


You can do magic (you're the one who can put out the fire)

by Zara_Zee



Series: Soulmates [2]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Au Religions, Au Versions of RL Religions, Bigotry & Prejudice, Conversion-style Therapy, Fantasy, M/M, Prejudicial Slurs, Romance, Swearing, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 13:47:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7317667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zara_Zee/pseuds/Zara_Zee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mundane Jensen Ackles knew that his devout Church of the Holy Fire parents were going to lose their minds when they learned he’d soul-bonded with Magus Jared Padalecki. But not even he could’ve predicted the epic shit-storm that was about to be unleashed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "The enormity of Witches is Considered"

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I have borrowed the names and faces of certain actors without their knowledge or approval. Said actors belong to themselves and I have merely cast them in my fiction. Not a word of this is true; I’ve just got them playing parts. Any family members mentioned are strictly OCs as I don’t personally like to cast non-actors in my fictional dramas.   
> **Title credits:** Story title--From America’s _You Can Do Magic._ Chapter titles-- from the book _Malleus Maleficarum_

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/image_zps5zfwwdmg.jpeg.html)

 

In retrospect, Jensen supposes that he really should’ve seen this coming.

Hindsight. It’s a beautiful thing. 20/20 and all that. And it’s not like he didn’t see this coming _at all_ ; he just didn’t see it coming _so soon_.

Yeah, it’s safe to say that Jensen was really not ready for the hundreds of camera flashes that blind him the moment he opens his front door. Nor for the microphones that are suddenly shoved in his face.

“Jensen, can you show us the mark?”

“Jensen, is it true that you’ve been bewitched?”

“How does it feel to have a soulmate?”

“Was the bond formed without your consent?”

“Will you be having the magus charged?”

“Who is the lucky magus?”

“What does your devout Holy Fire family have to say?”

Jensen finally gets the door shut and locked. He sags against it for a moment and then turns to face Jared, thankful that his boyfriend had gone back to the bedroom for his cell phone and hadn’t been beside him when the cameras went off.

“I’m sorry,” Jared says.

Jensen shakes his head. “None of this is your fault.”

Jared bites at his bottom lip. “I know, I just--”

Jensen can feel his distress through their bond and he’s beside the younger man in a couple of strides. “I know,” he says, reaching out for Jared. “But it is what it is. Neither of us had a choice about what happened,” he feels Jared withdraw; feels his shame through the bond and shakes his head. “I don’t regret it, Jared,” he waggles his eyebrows and grins, all cockiness and bravado. “The sex alone is enough to make the soulbond worthwhile.”

Jared stops retreating, but he isn’t quite as comforted as Jensen had hoped. “I heard those questions, Jen,” he says.  “We’re gonna get a lot of that. From everyone. Especially your family.”

Jensen pulls Jared in close and wraps his arms around him. “I know. And I’m gonna tell everyone who asks the same thing: nothing has happened between us that I didn’t 100% agree to. This is not something you did to me. This is something that happened to us. We’re in this together. All the way.”

Jared nods and rests his chin on the top of Jensen’s head. They stand with their arms around each other, ignoring the banging on the front door and the occasional question shouted through the keyhole, until Chris bursts out of his bedroom and glares at the door.

“What the _fuck_?” he says, turning to Jared and Jensen.

“The media,” Jared says.

Chris swears, loudly and eloquently and then heads toward the door.

“Dude,” Jensen reaches out for his arm. “Don’t go out there.”

Chris scowls and pulls away and stomps to the door. He’s only wearing white boxer shorts with multi-colored horseshoes on them, but he flings the door open just the same, shielding his eyes from the flare of flashing cameras with his forearm.

“Get the hell off my lawn,” he shouts, slamming the door closed behind him, “before I call the cops.”

Jensen looks up at Jared, his eyes wide. His lips begin to twitch and then he’s grinning widely. “Oh man. Every media outlet in the country just got a picture of Chris in his boxers!”

It’s funny, except that it’s really not. The soulbond is very new. They still need time to get used to it; to get used to _them_. Now they’re going to have to do it with the paparazzi in tow.

“Guys,” Charisma is standing in the doorway of the bedroom she shares with Chris. “What’s going on?”

Jensen brings her up to speed and Charisma purses her lips and turns to Jared. “We should call Professor Morgan. I have his number.”

Jared nods and pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. Jensen puts a hand to his arm. “Maybe you should call your parents too?”

Jared’s parents are well-known magi activists. If anyone can help with damage control, it will be Jessica and Wade Padalecki.

While Jared and Charisma call for reinforcements, Jensen retreats to the kitchen and makes himself a coffee. He listens to Chris loudly lecturing the gathered reporters about trespass and his constitutional right to be able to get out his own damned front door without being confronted by hooligans. Jensen snorts. Chris is having fun.

At least someone is.

Jared is freaking out. When they were standing in the hall, wrapped around each other, Jensen could feel Jared’s fear through their bond. He understands completely. Jared will be the one the Holy Fire propaganda machine paints as an abuser and a rapist. Jensen will be seen as a victim and that will suck, but it is far worse to be cast in the role of villain.

Jensen sits down at the kitchen table, wincing slightly, because the wooden seat is hard and Jared fucked him through the mattress last night. He smiles, remembering, and even though he’s alone, he blushes slightly. Jensen feels a small, slightly exasperated nudge along the bond and thinks an apology. Probably best if Jensen doesn’t replay their epic lovemaking in his mind while his soulmate is on the phone to his mother. He blows on his coffee and takes a small sip. At least Jared is calming down, thank the Goddess.

Jensen rubs a hand across his eyes. Jared is big and smart, outgoing and friendly. He’s awesome in the sack. It’s easy to forget that he’s only nineteen.

Jensen takes another sip of his coffee. Since he moved out to Los Angeles four years ago, Jensen has been significantly less celibate than his parents would like.  They would have preferred that he’d kept himself pure for marriage, but Jensen knew early on that he was attracted to both men and women and he’d wanted to make sure that he investigated his options thoroughly.

The magi generally have a relaxed attitude to sex and Wiccans view it as a sacred act that its practitioners are encouraged to share with each other. Jensen’s former Church takes the view that the fire of passion is unhealthy if you aren’t joined in holy matrimony with the person you’re sharing the passion with. Jensen was brought up to believe that witches (he flinches at the slur) are sluts.

Jensen slumps forward and puts his head in his hands. His parents are going to lose their minds when they find out he’s soulbonded with Jared.

Jared sends a tendril of comfort along their bond and a moment later, he appears in the kitchen.

“My mom wants to talk to you,” he says.

Jensen’s eyes widen and he feels himself begin to panic. Why does she want to talk to him? Does she disapprove? Is she angry?

_Focus!_ Jared sends across their bond, and Jensen’s eyes snap to his soulmate’s. He focuses on the bond and is able to sense that Jared is calm and optimistic.

_She just wants to welcome you to the family. To get to know you,_ Jared sends.

_Does she know who I am?_ Jensen asks

_Of course. I had to explain why we were going to need to do damage control here._

Jensen takes a deep breath and then holds his hand out for Jared’s cell phone.

“Hi,” he says. “This is Jensen.”

There’s an audible intake of breath and then a woman’s voice says, “Welcome to the family. I can’t _wait_ to meet you in person!” 

The voice—Jared’s mom’s voice—sounds happy; excited even. And Jensen struggles to understand that.

“You _do_ know who I am, right?” he says.

Not that he doubts Jared, it’s just…how can she sound so happy about this?

“You’re my son’s soulmate. Nothing else matters,” there’s a pause and then she sighs. “I know, I know,” she says, as if he’d scoffed out loud. “I’m not naïve enough to actually believe that. I only wish it were true. Yes, I know who you are. You’re Jensen Ackles. Youngest son of Naomi and Kenneth Ackles. Great nephew of the current Holy Fire Patriarch,” she pauses again. “Jared says you haven’t spoken to them yet.”

Jensen rubs a hand across the back of his neck. “No matter what I say, there’s gonna be a town car and security people picking me up and taking me home half an hour later.”

Jared grips his knee. “I won’t let them,” he says. “Not if you don’t want to go.”

“Put me on speaker,” Jared’s mom says.

Jensen does just that, placing the cell phone on the table in between him and Jared.

“You’ll need to manage any time you spend apart very carefully,” Jared’s mom says when Jared tells her they’re set.  “Jared tells me you’ve consummated the bond and it’s now fully established,” Jensen blushes at her words and scowls at Jared, “but it’s still early days. The bond is not yet as solid as it will be and a separation of more than a few days will quickly become painful.”

Jensen leans his forehead against his hand. “I don’t want to go home period. They’ll try to break the bond.”

“How?” Jared demands.

Jensen looks up and shrugs. “I don’t know,” he chews on his lip. “But I have this vague recollection from when I was a little kid of a girl who the Church said had been possessed by magic. And I remember people saying that they tried to whip the magic out of her and she died,” he looks from Jared to the phone and back again. “This? This could get ugly.”

Chris comes inside, accompanied by Professor Morgan and Gen. Charisma follows them into the kitchen.

“We’re on the phone to my mom,” Jared says and Professor Morgan’s eyes light up.

“Ms Padalecki!” he says. “It’s an honor.”

Gen rolls her eyes and plonks her laptop down on the table. “Found this on YouTube,” she says.

It’s footage from the Drawing Down the Moon ceremony, posted by the Los Altos Coven. It shows The Priestess/Goddess talking to Jensen and Jared and the Mark of _Nasc Anam_ is clearly visible on Jensen’s neck.  The title of the video is “Goddess says these two boys are The Way Forward. Is that the Mark of _Nasc Anam_? Who are they??”

There are a number of comments underneath and reading through them, Jensen can see how he was tracked down.

“There’s more,” Gen begins, her tone grim, but she’s interrupted by the ringing of Jensen’s cell phone. He glances down at it and feels his heart thunder to a halt in his chest. It’s his parents’ home number.

“Shit,” he whispers, his eyes darting straight up to Jared’s. He’s not ready for this conversation.

Jared thinks love and support at him through the bond and Jensen takes a deep breath and answers the call.

“You’re on the television,” his mom says, her voice higher than usual, tight with fear. “They’re saying you’ve been bewitched! Are you okay, Jensen? Please tell me you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, Ma,” Jensen says soothingly.

His mom isn’t mollified. “Why were you at a Wiccan ceremony?”

“I went with a friend.”

The word _friend_ utterly fails to encapsulate everything that Jared is to him, but he doesn’t think his mom is ready for the word ‘soulmate’ yet.

“A friend?” his mom sounds dubious. “You have Wiccan friends?”

“Yes, Mom, I do.” Jensen lifts his chin defiantly. He knows what’s coming next, and he feels his embarrassment roll off him in waves. Jared’s instant comfort and reassurance is expected, but he’s beyond surprised when he actually feels, through his bond with Jared, the way that all the magi in the room pick up on his emotions too. He feels a sudden barrage of reassurance and understanding come at him through the bond and knows it’s coming from the other magi, that Jared is picking up their emotions and amplifying them.

Jensen wonders how he ever coped without the extra sense that the bond with Jared has afforded him.

“I do hope,” his mother’s voice is tinged with steely disdain, “that you aren’t friendly with any _witches_.”

He was expecting it, but Jensen still can’t contain his sharp intake of breath.

“I’m friends with a lot of magi,” Jensen says. “And I would prefer that you don’t use the W word for them.”

“But that’s what they are! They use their magic to manipulate people. And that’s what they’re doing to you, Jensen!”

There are muffled voices at his mom’s end of the line and Jensen figures that his mom probably has him on speaker, just as he has her on speaker.

“Jensen? Apparently they’re now saying you have some sort of tattoo? Please tell me you don’t have a tattoo. You know The Book of Rules forbids them!”

Jensen tells his mom that he doesn’t have a tattoo. She accuses him of lying and demands to know what the rainbow-colored swirls on his neck are, if they aren’t a tattoo.

Jensen looks at Jared who’s sending a steady stream of love and support at him. He then looks at Charisma and gets a nod and then at Professor Morgan and Gen both of whom also nod.

Jensen steels himself. “It’s called the Mark of _Nasc Anam_. It means that Jared and I are soulmates.”

The scene that follows is epic.

Jensen’s mom alternates between crying and yelling, his dad gets involved; Jensen’s surprised that he’s there—obviously whatever they saw on the television was enough for them to declare an Ackles family state of emergency—and tells Jensen that he’s making his mother cry, which, yeah, thanks Dad, he can hear that. Pretty soon his brother and sister and several of his cousins are begging him to come home and then Pastor Roberts’s voice booms across the line. “Come home, Son,” he says. “We’ll set this right. There’s no need for you to be in bondage to a witch.”

Jensen’s mind goes slightly off-line at the mention of bondage and Jared huffs out a laugh and sends suggestive thoughts and images to Jensen across the bond. Jensen feels himself becoming aroused, but he knows that wasn’t what Pastor Roberts meant.

“Jensen?” his mom says. “Come home, Sweetheart. We can send someone to collect you if you’re worried they won’t let you leave.”

“I can’t come home,” Jensen says. “I have exams.”

He feels Jared deflate a little and thinks an apology at him. Of course his exams aren’t the only reason he doesn’t want to leave, but it’s the one reason his family will accept and Jensen is sick of arguing with them.

“Okay,” his dad says. “That’s fair. We’ll send some of the Church’s security people down to keep you safe.”

Jared reacts to Jensen’s instant panic, reaching out and pulling him close. Jensen breathes in the scent of him, lets himself bask in the comfort of his soulmate for just a moment and then says,

“No security.”

“Sweetheart—” his mom begins, but Jensen cuts her off.

“No security. I don’t want it, I don’t need it and I will call the police if they come anywhere near me.”

There are background murmurs and then his mom, the tears obvious in her voice says, “Will you at least let the local Pastor come and visit with you? I know you don’t think you’ve been bewitched, but if you have been, you might not be able to tell.”

“Sure. Okay,” Jensen doesn’t want to fight with his family and agreeing seems the simplest way to get them off the phone.

Once the call is disconnected, Jensen finds that he can’t bring himself to come out from the comforting cocoon of Jared’s arms. He doesn’t want to face everyone, not now that they’ve heard the sort of things his family say about the magi.

“Jensen?” Charisma puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not like we didn’t already know.”

“Well I didn’t know,” Gen huffs, folding her arms across her chest. “I mean, I knew his family were Holy Fire, but man, they’re world class bigots!”

Jensen tenses.

“Not helping, Gen,” Jared growls. And then he sighs. “Gen Cortese, meet Jensen Ackles.”

Gen gapes. “No _way_! I mean, wow. That explains a lot. So the current Church of the Holy Fire Patriarch is your…” she trails off and allows Jensen to fill in the blank.

“Great Uncle.”

“Wow,” Gen says again. “And they let you come out to California?”

Jensen turns to face her. “I was always a quiet, easy going kid. Never really political. I think they thought that if they just let me quietly do my own thing, I wouldn’t rock the boat,” he frowns. “And they were right. If this whole soulmate thing hadn’t happened, I would’ve just faded away into the background as far as politics and the Church are concerned.”

“That’s not really an option now,” Jared’s mom is still on speaker phone.  Jensen hates her just a little for being right. “And much as I hate to admit it,” Jessica Padalecki continues, “your parents do have a point. You could probably do with some Security right now.”

Professor Morgan clears his throat. “I’ve already had campus security clear the reporters. The university owns this apartment complex, so, uh, when you’re here you should be all right, but, yes, out and about, you might need Security.”

Jensen sighs. He’s not actually sure they’d be safer with his parents’ Security people. More to the point, he’s not sure _Jared_ would be safer. Before he can voice his concerns, the man in question speaks up.

“What about Harley and Sadie?” Jared turns toward Gen and Professor Morgan. “They’re Guard Dogs.”

Jensen can hear the capitalization in the way he says _Guard Dogs_ and he frowns. All of the magi—and even Chris—are grinning.

“Awesome!” Gen says.

“You’ll have to get permission for them,” Jared’s mom says.

“I’ll take care of it,” Professor Morgan says. “Just email me the details,” he rattles off his email address.

Jensen clears his throat. “Am I missing something?”

“Guard Dogs,” says Chris. “They’re awesome. Charisma’s family has one.”

Jensen frowns. He likes dogs well enough, but he judging by the reverence in Chris’s tone, he’s still missing something.

“ _Faire-Gadhar_ ,” Jared says and Jensen’s eyes widen.

He wrenches himself from Jared and backs away. “You want to bring demonic monsters into my house?”

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%201_zpsi7pehj1m.jpeg.html)

 He sounds hysterical, even to himself and the disappointment he senses through the bond makes him feel like an asshat.

He takes a deep breath. “Okay. I’m guessing that’s bullshit Holy Fire propaganda? They’re not demonic? Or monsters?”

_Relief, followed by a surge of love_ and then Jared says, “They’re not demonic. Although _monster_ …we’ll revisit that again after Harley’s chewed all your shoes.”

Jensen nods. “So they’re just dogs?”

“Hell, no,” says Gen. “They’re _magic_ dogs. I can’t believe you don’t know this stuff!”

Jensen knows about _Faire-Gadhar_. Sort of. Well…he knows what the Church says about them. The Church calls them demonic hellhounds. But then the Church calls Jared a witch; an evil man with a twisted soul who consorts with the Devil or maybe even sold his soul for power.

Jensen doesn’t actually believe in the Devil.  He wasn’t sure about God either until the ritual yesterday when he actually met a Priestess channelling a Goddess and now…well, now he’s a little conflicted on the subject of Deities.  But the Devil? The Devil seems like an excuse: _It’s not my fault: the Devil made me do it._

If there’s no one to sell your soul to and no one to conjure up hell-beasts, then the magi are just people with magic, as prone to good and evil as anyone else. And that makes _Faire-Gadhar_ …dogs with magic.

Holy shit.

Dogs. With magic.

Jared feels the moment Jensen gets it and grins.

“No they can’t do spellwork,” he says, forestalling the stupid question that Jensen would probably have asked. “They just have the gene for magic, same as we do. And sometimes it manifests; the same as with magi children or,” Jared blushes, “magi who’ve just met their soulmate.”

Jensen remembers the sparks that swirled furiously around his head the first time he met Jared.

“So what happens when a dog’s magic manifests?” he asks.

Professor Morgan steps in to answer. “With dogs it’s all about mating and feeding and fighting. They respond magically to the world around them in the way that will best get them what they need. They’re incredibly useful when trained to work with the magi. Most police dogs are _Faire-Gadhar_. Search and Rescue. Sniffer Dogs at airports. But of course, they’re most famous for their work as guard dogs for the wealthy.”

Because who wouldn’t want to be guarded by a dog that could grow three heads and suddenly manifest talon-like claws, dragon-like teeth and glowing red eyes?

“And you see them in the movies too,” Jared adds. “Like Fluffy in _Harry Potter_. Oh, and you also have to watch your food if there’s a _Faire-Gadhar_ around or you can find your steak levitating off your plate and down onto the floor.”

“Sadie’s far too well-trained for that,” Jared’s mom says. “Harley on the other hand…”

Jensen sits down heavily. He rubs a hand across his eyes and then takes a sip of his lukewarm coffee. Professor Morgan and Gen take their leave, going off to start organizing the paperwork that they’ll need to have Harley and Sadie come and live with Jensen. And Jared. They haven’t really talked about it, but as far as Jensen is concerned, Jared will stay with him permanently, rather than go back to the dorms. He feels Jared’s surge of agreement through the bond, and that’s that taken care of.

Charisma says she has errands to run and offers to go down to Beachcombers to look for Jensen’s lost shoes while she’s out—the mission Jensen and Jared had been about to embark on when they found the media on their doorstep—and then she retreats to her room to get ready. Chris claps a hand on Jensen’s shoulder and tells him that he’s going to take a shower and then he’ll sit on the porch and do his best Clint Eastwood impression just to make sure that people have got the message.

Jared is still talking lowly with his mom and the love and concern between them is so obvious that it makes Jensen’s heart ache for his own mom. He takes another sip of his almost-cold coffee and makes a face. He gets up and tips it down the sink and then leans on the edge of the counter, head down. He _feels_ Jared before he feels his soulmate’s big hands on his shoulders.

“You okay?” Jared asks.

“Yeah. Just. I’m not an activist. I’ve never wanted to be one. I just,” Jensen pauses. “All I’ve ever wanted is to find a partner, get a house somewhere, maybe a dog, work my way up to becoming the team physiotherapist for a major league sporting team—NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL—I don’t care which one. And just, you know, live my life. I’ve never wanted to be the way forward or whatever. And now. Now--”

Jared turns him around and hugs him hard, wraps him up in those big strong arms and Jensen really needs to get a grip here. He’s not the only one affected by this and Jared’s only nineteen. At twenty-three, he should be the one doing the comforting.

“Stop it,” Jared murmurs. “I don’t like it when your positive energy dips.”

“Sorry,” Jensen starts to apologize, but Jared cuts him off.

“This is a big deal,” he says. “I understand how you feel.”

And Jensen knows that he does. The bond is comforting, in so many ways. But it’s scary and intrusive in other ways. Jensen’s not immune to ugly thoughts. Occasionally he’s going to have knee-jerk reactions to things that are hurtful to Jared and--

“And we’ll both learn how to screen our thoughts,” Jared says. “I already know some techniques for screening out emotions that I think might work for screening our thoughts too. I’ll teach them to you and we can play around, see what works.”

“Yes,” Jensen latches onto the suggestion like a lifeline. “I’d like that.”

While Chris sits out on the porch with his laptop balanced on his knees and Charisma goes out to run her errands, Jared and Jensen practice screening their thoughts. They learn how to put blocks in place that enable them to have some privacy from each other. Because, as Jared says, every healthy couple needs to have some secrets, or how would you ever surprise your partner on their birthday?  They soon find that if they’re really determined to get into each other’s minds, nothing can stop them, although they can successfully keep each other at bay for a little while.   

Charisma brings back Jensen’s shoes, which she found in Lost Property, exactly where Jared said they would be, and then she sits outside with Chris to study.

It’s a warm California day, birds are tweeting and the scent of jasmine is wafting inside. Jensen is about to suggest to Jared that they go and join Chris and Charisma outside and do some studying for their own exams, when there’s a commotion out the front; loud angry voices, mostly Chris’s, but another male voice too.

Jared straightens, inclines his head and then frowns.

“What?” Jensen says.

Jared meets his eyes. “I’m picking up a lot of really negative emotion.”

Jensen rolls his eyes. “No shit.”

They move as one to the door and when they open it they find a red-garbed Holy Fire pastor arguing with Chris on the doorstep.

Jensen makes the Sign of the Pyre without thinking. It’s a reflex action, the result of years of indoctrination and he flushes when he realizes what he’s done.

The pastor, meanwhile, looks from Jensen to Jared and back again. More particularly he looks at the mark on their necks, before lifting his eyes to meet Jensen’s. He smooths his look of distaste rapidly, but not before Jensen sees it. And of course, he’s picking up on the pastor’s emotions via his bond with Jared.

Mostly what he’s picking up is disgust.

“Jensen Ackles,” the pastor says and Jensen steps forward and sticks out his hand.

“Nice to meet you Pastor,” he says, his manners another reflex.

The Pastor takes his hand and peers at him cautiously. “I’m Pastor Lehne,” he says softly. “Is there somewhere we can talk, Jensen?”

“Sure,” Jensen says, grateful for the gentle encouragement that Jared’s sending him. “Come on in, Pastor.”

The three of them settle in the living room, the pastor putting the brown leather hold-all he’s carrying on the floor beside him. Jensen asks him if he’d like a coffee.

“That would be lovely.”

Jared offers to make them all coffee and retreats to the kitchen, leaving Jensen alone with the pastor.

“Well now,” Pastor Lehne says with a smile, “I was a little worried he wasn’t going to give us any privacy.”

“Jared’s not a threat to me, Pastor. He hasn’t bewitched me. His magic recognized me as his soulmate, that’s all.”

“Magic isn’t natural,” Pastor Lehne begins.

“It is,” Jensen can’t help but interrupt. “For the magi, magic is natural. They don’t just _do_ magic, they _are_ magic. It’s an integral part of who they are.”

Pastor Lehne sighs. “It’s a defect. Their souls are twisted and the Devil got in. But the magi can still be good people, if only they don’t use their magic, don’t act on the evil that’s within them.”

“But if they use their magic to help people, how can that be evil?” Jensen is sitting forward in his seat, eyes alight.

The pastor shakes his head. “The end doesn’t justify the means, Jensen.”

“Coffee’s ready!” Jared is standing in the doorway with a plastic tray. There’s a coffee plunger, a sugar bowl, a small milk jug, three mugs and three teaspoons sitting on the tray. Jensen remembers when Jared transfigured all his teaspoons into shot glasses as practice for his Transfiguration exam. He wonders what Pastor Lehne would have to say about that; if he’d refuse to stir his coffee.

It’s a moot point anyway, because the good Pastor takes his coffee black and unsweetened. Lehne doesn’t take a sip of his coffee until Jared takes a sip of his and Jensen feels a sort of wry, disappointed sadness come at him through the bond.

“So,” Jensen says, picking up his mug. “Do you want to ask me any questions?”

Pastor Lehne’s eyes slide to Jared and Jared sighs. “Would you like me to leave the room?”

“No,” Jensen says, before the pastor can answer. “You stay, Jay.”

The pastor leans down and snaps open his hold-all.  He reaches in and pulls out a set of iron shackles.

“Would you be willing to put these on?” he says to Jared.

Jensen gets to his feet, his whole body trembling. “Get out,” he says, voice shaking. “How dare you come into my home and expect my boyfriend, my _soulmate_ to--”

Jared puts a hand to his thigh and sends a truckload of calm and reassurance to him.

“It’s okay, Jen,” he says. “I don’t mind. And it’ll help your priest feel reassured that I’m not influencing you.”

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%205_zpsivgrhdf3.jpeg.html)

Jensen can’t watch as Pastor Lehne fastens the shackles to Jared’s wrists and ankles. The last piece to be connected is an iron chain that runs up between the two sets of cuffs and Jensen knows that somehow or other, all the iron interferes with Jared’s magical abilities.  The moment Pastor Lehne clips it into place it’s as if the bond between them has been severed and Jensen sits down heavily, his face ashen.

Pastor Lehne looks at him sharply, his eyes alight with fervour.

“Are you free of him?” the pastor whispers. “Free of his enchantment?”

Jensen closes his eyes and concentrates. He can still feel Jared. His presence is much reduced, but the bond between them is still there.

_Jensen?_

Jensen opens his eyes and stares at his soulmate.

_I can still hear you, Jay!_

_I can still hear you too. It took a moment though. The bond is…muted._

Jensen turns to the pastor. “Jared hasn’t enchanted me. I’m not bewitched; I’m not under a spell. He hasn’t done something to me, we’re simply soulmates.”

Pastor Lehne’s mouth turns down and his eyes shadow. “You’re still under his influence.”

Jensen frowns. “What’s the point of the shackles then? I thought they removed the magis’ magical ability?”

The pastor shakes his head. “It’s obviously too late. You’re already under his sway.”

Jensen stares at the pastor, at the genuine fear and sadness in his eyes and a feeling of helplessness overcomes him. How does he convince the pastor; the Church and its followers; his entire family; that he’s making his own choices here?

He puts the question to Pastor Lehne and the answer is as expected as it is unacceptable; by breaking up with Jared, by having nothing more to do with him.

Jared shakes his head and rattles the shackles, his smile grim. “If I float you’ll execute me for witchcraft and if I drown, it’s proof that I’m innocent, right?”

Pastor Lehne has the good grace to look a little sheepish. “We need to know that our minds are our own,” he says. “With your powers…”

“We can’t make anyone do anything they don’t want to do,” Jared interrupts, “and we’re no more prone to evil than anyone else. But you refuse to believe that. Your own pre-existing biases prevent you from accepting the proof.” He sticks his wrists out. “Get these off me.”

For a moment Pastor Lehne looks frightened and then he pulls himself together and unfastens the shackles.

“I know you think this is about hate,” the pastor says, his eyes tracking the way Jared rubs at his wrists, “but it’s about love. You’ve cut yourself off from Salvation,” he turns to Jensen, “and you have too. Your family loves you Jensen. It hurts them to see you cut off from God’s love and condemned to Hell.”

Jensen’s stomach swoops. His parents truly believe in the Church’s teachings, his siblings too as far as he knows. Right now they’re devastated, certain that he’s lost to them and to the right path. He hates that he’s causing them so much pain and fear.

Jared huffs in annoyance. “Jensen’s not condemned to Hell. Neither am I. All humans, including the magi, are as the Lord and Lady made us. I’m sorry that Jensen’s family’s beliefs are hurting them right now, but it’s their beliefs that need to change, not us.”

Pastor Lehne shakes his head. He turns to Jensen and leans forward, placing a hand over Jensen’s which are clenched in his lap. “You’ve been brought up in the One True Faith, my son. Never forget that.”

Jensen wrenches his hands away and presses himself into the back of the armchair.  

Pastor Lehne pats his knee and Jensen wants to draw it up to his chest, to curl himself into a ball.

“I’ll show you out, Pastor,” Jared says.

Pastor Lehne stands. He stares down at Jensen and then makes the Sign of the Pyre and murmurs some sort of benediction. Jensen almost shudders. He stares at the floor and tries to shake the feeling of _wrongness_ that the pastor’s words have caused.  

When Jared comes back inside he has Chris and Charisma with him.

“You okay?” Chris says.

Jensen nods.

Jared perches on the arm of Jensen’s chair. “It’s not your fault. You’re not to blame for the way your family feels.”

Jensen nods again. “I know. Intellectually I know that. But in my heart, I still feel kind of responsible.”

Jensen feels Jared putting up shields in his mind. “You’d be better to blame me then,” he says. “My magic chose you. You were just sitting there minding your own business.”

Jensen rolls his eyes and lets his irritation filter across the bond. “I don’t blame either of us. We’re soulmates. I’m just sorry it’s going to upset so many people.”

Jared makes grilled cheese for everyone. He says it’s comfort food and Jensen agrees. His mom always made him grilled cheese whenever he was stressed or upset. And tomato and rice soup when he was sick. His stomach lurches uncomfortably at the thought that his mom’s love and comfort might be lost to him now. He doesn’t want that. His family may have their faults, but he still loves them. Jared, of course, feels his sorrow through the bond and feels bad and the whole thing ends up becoming one giant negative feedback loop.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Charisma finally snaps. “If you two don’t get your act together every magus within a ten mile block is going to be sobbing their hearts out! Just…do something happy for a while.”

Jared shakes his head. “We’ve got exams to study for.”

“I could put theory into practice and give you a massage?’ Jensen suggests.

“That actually sounds awesome,” Jared says with a shy smile.

Jensen has Jared strip down to his boxers and when Jared huffs that he doesn’t want to be the only one mostly naked Jensen takes off his clothes too.

Jared lies face down on the bed and Jensen picks up the bottle of massage oil from the nightstand before climbing to sit on Jared’s ass.

Jared’s shoulders and neck are tight and Jensen spends a lot of time, digging his thumbs and fingers into hard knots and then soothing the pain away with gentle caresses.

Jared moans wantonly and then laughs when Jensen’s cock hardens against his ass.

“Man you’re good at this, Jen. I’m actually drooling here.”

“Me too,” Jensen says, wriggling against Jared’s ass and eliciting another moan.

“Is this gonna be a happy ending type of massage?” Jared asks.

“Can be.”

“Awesome,” Jared sighs.

Jensen climbs off him and taps him on the hip, indicating that he should roll over. When he does, Jensen peels off Jared’s boxers and nudges his legs apart. And then he sits, kneeling in between his soulmate’s spread legs and stares down at him. This beautiful Sex God of a man is all his, forever and ever. Jensen has honestly never felt more in love.

Jared blushes and then cants his hips. “You gonna suck my dick or what?” he grumbles

Jensen smirks, more grateful than he can say that Jared has saved him from his own sentimentality. He gets his mouth on Jared’s dick, tonguing at the head and then sucking him down until his gag reflex kicks in. He eases back then and wraps his hand around the base of Jared’s dick, licking and sucking and jerking him off. Jensen opens himself fully to the bond and feels Jared’s pleasure as if it were his own. Jared’s hands are fisted in the sheets and he’s making the most obscene noises as he thrusts up into Jensen’s mouth. Jensen echoes them and the vibration makes Jared come hard, so far down Jensen’s throat that Jensen doesn’t even taste it. Jensen swallows and Jared moans and Jensen allows Jared’s softening dick to slip from his mouth. His own boxers are sticky.

“That,” Jared croaks; his throat sounding as if it was just fucked raw. He clears it and tries again. “That was fucking awesome. I could feel me and I could feel you and…wow. I was really looking forward to sucking you off,” he frowns, “although I kind of feel like I already did, except that was _you_ sucking _me_ off.”

Jensen rubs a hand across the back of his neck. “Yeah. We should shower.”

They open the bedroom door, Jensen in his sticky boxers and Jared buck naked. As they cross the hall to the bathroom, they hear a loud moan and Jensen sticks his head around the living room corner and jerks back fast.

“You know how Charisma was talking before about us depressing the whole neighbourhood with our negative feedback loop?”

Jared’s jaw drops. “Oh man. Really? You think we just made the whole neighbourhood horny?”

Jensen shrugs. “Well, Charisma and Chris don’t generally make a habit of fucking on the sofa at five o’clock in the afternoon.”

They shower and change and when the return to the living room, Charisma glares at them. “Is this gonna be a thing now? Because if I’m gonna get all hot and bothered every time you two get it on, there’ll have to be rules.”

Jensen buries his face in Jared’s chest and groans. Jared cards a hand through his hair and Jensen can feel his fond smile.

Chris sniggers. “You two are gonna be such a hit at orgies.”

Jensen tries not to panic. “No orgies,” he says, the words muffled against Jared’s tee-shirt.

“Nothing you don’t want,” Jared soothes. “Not ever.”

“Sorry,” Chris says. “Didn’t mean to freak you out, man.”

Jensen turns to look at him. “I thought you weren’t religious?”

Chris shrugs. “I’m not. Not really. But I was brought up Wiccan,” he looks at Charisma and then Jared before meeting Jensen’s eyes again. “It’s different for the magi. They’re so much more in tune with the life-force of all things. For us,” he shakes his head. “We can’t feel it the same way. It’s easier to lose faith,” he ducks his head and clears his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the solemn moment. When he looks up, his grin is filthy. “Orgies are wicked fun though,” he teases. “You Holy Fire prudes don’t know what you’re missing.”

Before Jensen can do more than glare indignantly, there’s a knock on the door and Jared stiffens beside him.

“Oh man,” Jared says. “I can’t believe this. I told them not to come,” he turns to Jensen, his expression forlorn. “I’m sorry about this,” he says. “But my parents are here.”

 


	2. "The Methods by which Witches Entice and Allure the Innocent"

Jensen is hiding in the bathroom. He’s been in here for far too long; Jared’s parents are sure to be suspicious by now, but he needed a moment alone.

In all honesty, Jensen isn’t sure what to make of Jared’s parents. Last time he saw Jared’s mom, on that Fox News show where she went head-to-head with his own mom, Jessica Padalecki had straight black hair. She’d been wearing a long fitted back dress with bat wings and Jensen has to confess, watching her on the television, he’d been a little scandalized by her nose and eyebrow piercings.

The piercings she has in today are even more outlandish. She has a bright red stud in her nose and a silver dragon in her eyebrow. She also has very short rainbow-colored hair.  And she’s wearing multi-colored harem pants and an emerald green crop top.

Jared’s dad is wearing blue jeans and a purple tie-dyed shirt. He has long silver hair, pulled into a bun with some sort of chop sticks sticking out of it and he’s wearing black nail polish.

Jensen tries to imagine Jared’s parents having a civil conversation with his and fails dismally. Just the thought of them being in the same room is almost enough to trigger a panic attack and he finds himself laughing, a little hysterically.

There’s a knock on the bathroom door and he cans the laughter and pulls himself together.

“Just a minute,” he calls.

He flushes the toilet for good measure and then washes his hands and splashes cold water on his face.

When he opens the door he finds Jessica Padalecki on the other side.

“Oh honey,” she says and pulls him into a hug.

He resists for about ten seconds and then sighs and settles into the embrace.

“I’ve met your mom,” she says, “and it’s true that on the surface, we don’t seem to have a lot in common. But we’re both very passionate about the things we believe in and we both love our children fiercely. That’s important,” she steps back and holds him at arm’s length, her hands on his shoulders as she looks directly into his eyes.

“Your eyes are gorgeous,” she says. “Really mesmerising. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if you had a little magic in you.”

“I doubt it,” Jensen ducks his head and Jessica laughs warmly.

“C’mon,” she says. “We want to get to know you.”

Later, when the Padaleckis have headed off to a hotel and he and Jared are tucked together in bed, Jensen tries to articulate how he feels.

“It’s not that I wasn’t happy to meet them,” he says. “They’re really nice. And it’s awesome that they’re so open to having a mundane in the family. But…it feels like we gave them an opportunity that we didn’t give my parents.”

Jared is annoyed. And a little hurt.

“I told them not to come,” he says defensively. “They just ignored me. It’s not like we asked them to come, but told your parents they couldn’t.”

Jensen’s being unfair and he knows it, but he’s feeling off-kilter and out of sorts and really alone in a sea of _witches_.

Jared gets out of bed and storms out of the bedroom. Jensen hears the bathroom door slam. He folds his arms over his face and thinks a very sincere apology at Jared.

_I’m so sorry. That was rude and uncalled for. I’m being a selfish dick._

All he gets along the bond is a sniffle, which serves to remind him yet again just how young Jared really is.

Jensen thinks love and support at Jared. He’s not as good as the magus is at this magic bond stuff, but he thinks he’s doing it right.

_Come back to bed._

He pictures Jared as the little spoon, wrapped in his arms. He gets amusement and then a mental picture of himself as the little spoon. Jensen grins. He really doesn’t care who ends up being the little spoon, so long as he gets Jared back in his arms.

The bedroom door opens.

“Sorry,” they say in unison.

Jensen pulls back the comforter and Jared shuts the bedroom door and gets in beside him.

 

 “You’re not alone,” Jared whispers. “You’ll never be alone again. And maybe that’s part of the problem. I’m used to being aware of the emotions all around me. And okay, being able to read actual thoughts is new, but you can get a lot just from people’s emotions and I’m already used to that. For you, this is a really, really big change.”

“Yeah.” It is. Jensen has to acknowledge that. “I guess I’m just feeling a little jealous. You’ve got your family supporting you and I don’t. And I know,” he cuts Jared off, knowing full well what his soulmate is about to say, “that your family is more than happy to give me their full support, but they’re still not _my_ family. Not really.”

Jared nods. “So maybe, when exams are over, you should go and visit your parents?”

Jensen pulls a face. “Maybe. I guess the real problem is that I’m not sure I can count on their support. In fact I’m pretty sure that they _won’t_ be there for me; not unless I break things off with you.”

Jared presses a soft kiss to Jensen’s temple and then he wriggles and turns, all arms and legs, and Jensen finds himself the little spoon, held tightly in Jared’s arms.

“We’ll just have to take things one step at a time,” Jared says. “Sleep now.”

Jensen does.

\--

Jared’s parents come with them to visit the Palo Alto coven. Jensen is sort of expecting a cave or a dark, dank basement, with lots of black furnishings, and a bubbling cauldron and pentagrams all over the walls.

There _is_ a pentagram; a discreet silver one, on the burnt-orange feature wall behind the pine reception desk. The small office is brightly lit and cheerful and the receptionist is kind and welcoming as she ushers them into a conference room, where all thirteen members of the Coven Council are seated around a board table. The board table is high gloss pine and there are chilled water glasses and a pitcher of cold water on the table. There is also a small bowl of mints.

 _Seriously?_ Jensen looks at Jared. _This is so freakin’ cheery I feel like it’s a glamor or something!_

Jared sniggers and one of the Coven members—Jensen looks at her and recognizes the priestess from the ritual last night—makes an _aww_ noise and beams.

“You two are _adorable_!”

Jensen scowls, but he can feel his cheeks heating.

The Coven asks for permission to inspect the mark of _Nasc Aman_ on both of their necks. Jensen tries not to shudder as several sets of cool, dry fingers brush against his throat.

They’re asked a lot of questions about the bond. Mostly Jared answers, but occasionally someone will direct a question to Jensen and he’ll fumble through a response as best as he can.

Some of the questions are simple enough:

 _Does Jensen actually hear subvocalized words when Jared talks to him telepathically or does he just get an understanding of intent?_ He hears actual words. They can send each other images too.

 _Did he feel anything when the mark appeared._ No.

But other questions, he struggles to answer:

 _Has he noticed any increase in his ability to manipulate comhchoitiantaspiorad?_ Huh?

 _Has he been tested for the Gene?_ What gene? The magic gene? Are you serious?

“I don’t have any thaumaturgical ability,” Jensen says, his voice shaking. “You know who my family is, right? You really think they wouldn’t have tested for that gene in utero, despite that being illegal?”

Jared is running his thumb soothingly over Jensen’s wrist. They’ve been holding hands underneath the table pretty much since they sat down. Jensen hadn’t fully realized until now. He glances up at this soulmate and asks him wordlessly to explain that long complicated word that one of the Coven had asked him about.

Someone from the Coven is speaking again, but she falls silent when Jared holds up his hand. “Sorry,” Jared says, “Jensen just asked me to explain what _comhchoitiantaspiorad_ is.”

The woman who officiated as Priestess at last night’s ceremony makes a gesture, indicating that Jared has the floor. Jared squirms a little and turns faintly pink. “Uh, well, I’m only a first year thaumaturgy student, but, uh, it’s basically a form of metaphysical energy,” he pauses and inclines his head. “I suppose you could say that our connection with the universe is a little like the connection a radio station has to the receiving radio. Except that we’re an intelligent radio which is capable of both sending and receiving energy waves. We receive energy waves from the Universe and, if you have the gene for magic, then the Universe can receive energy waves from you. Once you’ve learnt how to make the energy waves that you’re sending out have an impact on the Universe, then you’re manipulating _comhchoitiantaspiorad_ or, to put it another way, you’re working magic.”

“Right,” Jensen says. “Well, I can’t do that.”

“Have you tried lately?” asks a Coven member.

Jensen shakes his head, exasperated. “If I was a magus,” he says, “my abilities would’ve manifested during childhood, wouldn’t they?”

“That’s usually the case,” Jared’s mom says, “but it’s also possible that your abilities could be latent and that the mark of _Nasc Anam_ could have triggered the gene. Turned it from ‘off’ to ‘on’, epigenetically speaking.”

“Okay,” Jensen kneads at his forehead. He can feel a headache starting up. “I guess I should have the blood test then.”

Jared reaches out and places his cool hand on the back of Jensen’s neck and Jensen closes his eyes and leans into the touch. His headache evaporates.

There’s a chorus of “Awwws” from around the table and Jensen straightens up with a glare. “So did any of the previous mundane soulmates turn out to have the gene for magic?”

The guy who officiated as Priest at last night’s ceremony shrugs. “You’re the first officially recognized soulmates since 1896 and back then we didn’t have the genetic knowledge that we do now.”

“Do we actually know what a soulmate is?” Jensen asks. “Does every magus have a potential soulmate? Is it always a mundane like the history says? Jared says his magic recognized my soul and reached out for it. Is that actually what happened?”

What follows is a long, animated discussion, with several theories raised and debated. What Jensen takes away from the conversation is that there are several schools of thought within the magi community, but nobody really knows exactly how the whole soulmate thing works.

 _What do you believe?_ he asks Jared. 

Jared’s response is hesitant. _I guess…it doesn’t really matter what anyone believes, the facts will be what they are and maybe one day we’ll know and maybe we never well. But my favorite theory is the one that at some point, billions of years ago, you and I were actually one single-celled micro-organism and we shared a soul._

Jensen can’t help smiling up at Jared because that one’s his favorite theory too.

The Church of the Holy Fire doesn’t believe in reincarnation—Jensen was brought up to view it with scorn and derision, as a stupid, primitive idea. Then again The Church doesn’t believe in evolution either and Jensen’s definitely on board with that theory. The micro-organism soulmate theory appeals to the scientist in him. The idea that he and Jared were one and then, at some point in evolution one of their incarnations split and their one soul became two—two parts of the one whole—if he puts his skepticism about reincarnation aside he can just about believe that. And looking at Jared, with his puppyish enthusiasm for life and the way he clings to the people he loves like a baby monkey, Jensen can well believe that if his magically-infused soul had seen it’s other half it would have reached out and grabbed it and not let go.

The Priestess clears her throat. “We need to discuss the Prophecy,” she says.

“Prophecy?” Jensen arches an eyebrow.

“ _Together, you are the way forward. The path to the light_. That’s what the Goddess said. We need to determine what She meant.”

Oh. That. Jensen harrumphs a little. He isn’t sure he believes in prophecy, but it seems like a real prophecy should be longer or something. 

There’s a lot of long winded talk and fancy language that Jensen doesn’t fully understand and frankly it all seems a bit stupid. Beside him Jared snorts and nods his head and the Coven members stop their bickering and turn as one to face him.

“Oh,” Jared says. “It’s just…” he looks at Jensen. “Jen and I kind of figured that me being who I am and him being who he is, that because we’re soulmates it could go some way to healing the rift between us and the Church of the Holy Fire.”

A man in a grey cardigan looks at him dubiously. “That seems a bit simplistic.”

“It was a pretty simple statement,” Jensen says. “You’re the ones trying to complicate it.”

“Know a lot about prophecy, do you?” the man asks. His tone is snide and Jensen doesn’t need to tap into Jared’s ability to read emotions to know that the man doesn’t really like him.

Jensen shrugs. “No, not really. The Church of the Holy Fire doesn’t believe in them. But I’m a student of Science and we were taught early on that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.”

“Right,” Jared nods. “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

“I think the boys are right,” the Priestess says. “When the Goddess spoke through me I had a definite sense that her thoughts were toward healing and reconciliation,” she pauses. “And there might be people who don’t like that. Do you have Security?”

“They do,” Jared’s dad speaks up. “Two _Faire-Gadhar_. And the College owns the building they live in so we’ve got Campus Security keeping an eye on them too.”

Jensen glances at Jared. This is news to both of them. They knew that Professor Morgan asked Campus Security to clear the reporters, but neither of them had realized that Security was still keeping an eye on them.

 _My parents must’ve organized it_ , Jared thinks.

Jensen knows they mean well, but he can’t help feeling _managed_.

“We need to organize a Press Conference,” Jessica Padalecki says, and as she and the Priestess begin to plan a PR strategy, Jensen starts to feel his control of the situation slipping.

It’s only the fact that Jared seems so damn _relieved_ that his parents and the Coven are managing everything that allows Jensen to hold his tongue.

They hold the Press Conference that very afternoon, out the front of the Palo Alto Coven’s offices. The Priestess (who Jensen has since learned is called Samantha Smith) and Jared’s mom do all the talking, with Jared and Jensen standing in between them.

Jensen stares out at the crowd of reporters with a stony expression. He suspects he looks rather unfriendly, but he just knows that a number of the people in the crowd will be Holy Fire devotees and they’ll be convinced that he’s bewitched. He wishes he could tell them otherwise, but the Coven and Jared’s parents had decided that it would be a bad idea for either Jared or Jensen to speak at the Press Conference.

Jensen can’t pretend that he’s not pissed about that; or that, once again, it was only Jared’s overwhelming relief that kept him silent.

They’re just getting into Jared’s parents’ hire car to go home when Jensen’s cell phone rings.

“Hi Mom,” he says, tiredly.

There’s a pause. “Oh baby,” she says. “You sound exhausted.”

He laughs, without a lot of humor. “I am. So I’m guessing you saw the Press Conference.”

“We did. You didn’t mention earlier that you’d been bewitched by Jared _Padalecki_.”

Her tone is reproachful and Jensen closes his eyes and massages the bridge of his nose. “I’m not bewitched. I’m not under a spell. We’re just soulmates. How many times do I have to say it?”

“I see you’ve met Jared’s parents,” his Mom says with a sniffle.

“Yeah.”

“And they’re taking control of everything aren’t they? Not giving you any say.”

Jared touches his leg and Jensen knows that the younger man has been able to hear the entire conversation by listening in to Jensen’s thoughts. He shakes his head.

“Now’s not a good time, Mom, I’ll call you back, okay?”

He hangs up before she can respond.

_Jen…you know it’s not like that. My parents are just trying to help._

Jensen locks his thoughts down and turns to look out the side window. It’s not that he doubts Jared—or Jared’s parents—he just feels like his life’s getting away from him. And he doesn’t like it.

Jared sighs and reaches out for Jensen’s hand and Jensen doesn’t want Jared to be upset so he squeezes his hand and rubs his thumb over the pulse in Jared’s wrist.

By the time they arrive back home, Jensen is feeling a lot calmer and he knows that Jared is too. While Jared’s parents park the car, Jensen unlocks the front door and is promptly bailed up by two excited dogs, who leap at him, yipping, with tails wagging and then promptly lose their minds when the spot Jared coming through the door behind him.

[](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%202_zpshjq4lvld.jpeg.html) [](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%203_zps87jss0ig.jpeg.html)

 “Harley! Sadie! Down!” Jared barks and the dogs drop to their bellies, tails thumping madly.

Jared introduces Jensen to the dogs and they sniff his hand and plead for pets with sad, hopeful eyes.

Jensen frowns. “These are the…the _Faire-Gadhar_?”

“I know right?” Jared says solemnly. Harley is snuffling at Jensen’s shoe and Sadie is on her back, clearly hoping Jared will rub her belly. “They’re clearly vicious and evil.”

“They’re just dogs,” Jensen blurts.

There are voices coming from the living room and they head in there. Professor Morgan and Gen are in with Chris and Charisma.

“Hey!” Chris grins. “I’m an internet meme now. Me in my boxers.”

Gen is sitting pressed up against Professor Morgan and Jensen knows he should be scandalized that the professor is so obviously dating his TA, but he’s already got enough on his plate.

Professor Morgan leans forward and picks up a piece of paper from the coffee table.

“Here,” he hands it to Jared. “It’s the Licence to keep _Faire-Gadhar_ on the premises and to have them accompany you in public as service animals.”

Jared takes it with a nod of thanks.

Everyone seems to have a beer so Jensen goes to the kitchen and snags a couple for himself and Jared. Back in the living room he perches on the arm of his soulmate’s armchair and hands him off a bottle. Only Jared doesn’t take it.

“Uh,” Jared bites at his bottom lip. “I’m not old enough. And with my parents here…”

And doesn’t that just make Jensen feel like a cradle robber?

“Question,” Chris raises his own bottle. “If Jensen gets drunk, do you get drunk too Jared?”

“Yeah,” Jared nods.

“Huh,” Chris looks intrigued. “So if you both have one beer, it’ll be like you both had two beers?”

Jared and Jensen look at each other and shrug. “I guess,” Jensen allows.

“Or maybe,” Jared adds, “we’ll have twice the tolerance, because there’s two of us. Maybe if he had six beers, it’d be like he only had three because I’d be sharing the effects.”

“How about we wait a couple of years to test these theories?” Jared’s mom suggests, as she and Jared’s dad make their way into the living room.

“Some guard dog you are,” Jensen says to Sadie, who’s sitting with her head resting on Jared’s feet.

“The dogs know my parents,” Jared says. “They wouldn’t react to them.”

“And besides,” Jessica smiles. “They don’t love us nearly as much as they love Jared.”

Because Jensen’s parents raised him to have manners, he immediately gets up and offers Jared’s parents his place on the sofa and then runs around organizing drinks and snacks for everybody.

Gen, who’s been texting surreptitiously on her cell phone ever since Jensen and Jared arrived, growls suddenly.

“Sorry,” she says when everyone looks at her. “I’m on Twitter.”

Jared’s mom looks at her sharply. “Did @StateofGrace tweet a reaction to the press conference?”

Gen looks grim. “Yeah. Pretty much what you’d expect. Jensen’s been bewitched; it’s all an evil witch-plot to take over the world, yada, yada, yada.”

Jared’s brow is furrowed. “@StateofGrace? That’s the Church of the Holy Fire’s official Twitter account right?”

Gen nods. “Yeah. It’s run by this real little—”

“Sister,” Jensen croaks. “My sister Grace runs it.”

“Awkward,” Gen murmurs, looking down at her phone.

“Your…little sister?” Jared says.

Jensen shakes his head. “No, she’s my big sister. Four years older. She studied Public Relations at UAT and now she does PR stuff for the Church.”

There’s some uncomfortable shuffling and nobody except Jared seems able to meet Jensen’s eyes. Jensen is perched on the arm of the sofa next to where Jared is sitting squished beside his parents and Jared reaches out and takes hold of Jensen’s hand.

 _How much would you kill me if I pulled you onto my lap?_ Jared asks.

 _Don’t._ Jensen shakes his head.

_But you feel so sad. I just want to cuddle it better._

Jensen snorts. He gets an image through the bond of Jared, arms spread wide, coming in to cuddle him like some sort of over-large cuddle monster and it brings a smile to his face even as he rolls his eyes. And then he notices that everyone is staring at them. Charisma practically has hearts in her eyes.

“What?” he says, lifting his chin.

Charisma sighs. “You two are so adorable when you do that whole silent talking thing.”

Jessica purses her lips. “Maybe we should get them a spot on Oprah? If people could only see how _good_ they are together, then maybe--”

“Wouldn’t make any difference,” says Jensen. “They’d just think he’d bewitched me to be happy with him. Their minds are made up.”

He spreads his arms and shrugs in a ‘what can you do’ gesture. He knows his former Church. They’ll never change their minds on this. The best the magi can do here is try to limit the fallout and control the damage.

“I’ve got some studying to do,” he says. “If you’ll excuse me.”

 _You want me to come with you?_ Jared asks.

 _No. I just need some time alone._ Jensen responds. He’s generally not one for PDAs, but he leans down and gives Jared a kiss before he leaves because he can _feel_ how troubled Jared is by the shit-storm their soulbonding seems to have unleashed.

In the quiet of his room, Jensen puts his mind blocks in place like Jared taught him and then he takes a moment to silently fall apart. He lies face down on his bed, his face buried in the pillow that smells like Jared, and grieves for a lost future where his family and his husband’s family can sit down to Thanksgiving dinner together without a third global Witch War actually, literally, breaking out.   

Eventually, Jensen decides that he’s done feeling sorry for himself for now and he rolls over and picks up his laptop, which is on charge beside his bed. There’s an online practice exam he needs to do before his Anatomy exam tomorrow. And he truly does mean to log on to the College website, except that as soon as his laptop boots up he’s bombarded with Facebook and Twitter mention notifications. Jensen’s stomach plummets to his boots. He doesn’t want to know. He knows, in the abstract, the kind of thing that the Church and its True Believers are saying about him; about Jared. He doesn’t need to see the fucked up details.

Only there’s also an email from his sister and that isn’t quite so easy to ignore.

Jensen stares at the screen and rubs his chin. And then he clicks on the _new mail_ icon.

_Hi Jensen,_

_I don’t really know how to start this. I guess…I’ll start by saying I’m really worried about you. You must feel really stressed and alone, out there amongst all those witches who are trying to convince you that you’re okay, that you’re not going straight to Hell. But you are, Jensen. If you keep consorting with a witch then I’m sorry, but you are._

_We’ve been doing research, looking into the Church’s known remedies for people who’ve been bewitched with inordinate love—or philocaption as it’s more properly known. Jensen, the Witch Jared has turned your mind, but we can overcome his magics with prayer and acts of devotion. Please come home and let us cure you. Please, brother._

_Love always,_

_Grace._

Jensen reads the email through three times and drops his head into his hands. And then he clicks on reply:

_Hi Grace,_

_Thanks for your email. I appreciate your concern. Yeah, it’s all pretty stressful. Jared’s a great guy. Funny, kind, loving and giving. You’d really like him. I wish I knew how to convince you that I’m not bewitched. But I don’t think there’s any proof that you would accept. Is there? What would convince you?_

_Love,_

_Jensen_

Jensen doesn’t have to wait long for a reply. His sister very earnestly tells him that if he submits to the Patriarch’s recommended regime of prayer and acts of devotion and is still in love with Jared afterwards, the Church will accept that their love is real and not a product of bewitchment.

Jensen frowns and then scrubs a hand across his face. He doesn’t need this shit. He’s got his final exams this week. He should be focusing on that, not all this stupid drama.

He thinks about what Grace said and shudders. Prayers, okay. He can deal with prayers. But acts of devotion? He doesn’t know precisely what the Church would expect him to do to show his devotion to God, but he can’t imagine it would be anything good.  

But if it would get them off his back? If it would make them leave Jared alone? Then yeah. It would be worth it.

\--

Jared watches Jensen walk out of the room and then sags, his head dropping down against the back of the sofa.

“It’s gonna be okay, Honey,” his mom says, slipping her arm around his shoulders.

“Yeah,” Jared sighs. “It’s just. This is so hard for him. He’s still got all this indoctrination to work through and he feels really alone.”

“Want me to go talk to him?” Chris says. “As the only other non-magi here?”

Jared shakes his head. “He needs some alone time right now.”

“And we have to plan our PR strategy,” Jessica says.

Jared turns to look at her, his eyes wide. “This is my life, mom. Not some activist campaign.”  

“This situation is precisely why we _are_ activists,” his mom says.  “You can’t expect us to sit back and do nothing while The Church of the Holy Fire accuses you of all sorts of vile crimes.”

Sadie shifts restlessly at his feet and Jared leans forward and pets her. “Think I’ll take the dogs for a walk,” he says.

His parents and Professor Morgan exchange a significant look. “Stick to the grounds of the apartment block,” his dad says.

Okay. Wow. People have obviously been making threats online.

“Anything credible?” he asks.

His dad’s mouth takes on a pinched look. “Just the usual lunatic fringe,” he says. “But it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

In the end Charisma comes with him too. The dogs are really excited; snuffling and scent marking and generally just enjoying their new territory. Jared allows himself to relax. To pretend for a moment that he’s just a regular college boy excited about his amazing new boyfriend.

Sadie bounds toward a tree, dragging Charisma behind her and Jared can’t help grinning as Sadie sniffs and then cocks a leg.

“This is so messed up,” he suddenly finds himself saying. “All I was trying to do was study for my exams. And then, there’s this hot, green-eyed guy sitting opposite me and I’m thinking, ‘Whoa, man, where have you been all my life?’” Jared sighs. “The next minute my magic’s swirling all around his head and the minute after that we’ve got matching ‘tattoos’ and he can’t move out of my line of sight without keeling over.”

Charisma’s brown eyes are focused on his. “He’s okay now though, right? Now that you guys have consummated the bond?”

Jared nods. “Yeah. We can be apart now, but probably not for more than a few days; a week at most.”

Charisma is quiet for a moment and then she asks, “Do you regret it? Meeting your soulmate?”

Jared thinks about the question; truly thinks about it. On the one hand he’s suddenly the target of a lot of hate from certain quarters of the community. On the other hand, being with Jensen is like nothing Jared could have ever imagined.  The thought of being without him is just…horrible. It would feel like being torn in two. Jared doesn’t really have the words to describe what it’s like to be connected with his soulmate. Nobody who doesn’t have one could ever possibly understand. Jared is no longer one person; not really. His sense of self has suddenly become much larger and he will never regret that; never regret the way he and Jensen have fused together.

“No,” Jared tells Charisma. “Despite all the trouble it’s caused, meeting my soulmate is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

The continue walking, and as they walk Charisma suggests that Jared should ask Professor Morgan if the university library has any reference material about soulbonds that is kept confidential and not made available to the general public.   

They make several laps of the building’s grounds. Harley gets very excited when he sees a small flock of pigeons and the build-up of purple swirls around his head tells Jared that he’s trying to magically slip his leash. Jared resists the temptation to give him the magical equivalent of a smack on the nose and instead reprimands him verbally, because Harley is going to be working with a mundane and he needs to remember to keep his magic sheathed unless he’s told he can play or it’s an emergency. Pigeons don’t constitute an emergency, no matter how Harley may like to argue otherwise. 

When they finally get back to the apartment, Jared’s mom is on the phone to Oprah’s people, his dad is in the kitchen cooking and Gen is having an argument with @StateofGrace on Twitter. Chris is nowhere to be seen and Jensen is still in his room. Jared checks in with him via the bond, just a quick, concerned, ‘are you all right’ prod and gets a fond, slightly exasperated prod in return.

Professor Morgan is mostly just watching Gen trade barbs with Grace, so Jared asks him if the university has any ‘restricted’ material on soulbonding that he and Jensen could take a look through, given their very obvious need to know everything there is to be known on the subject. Professor Morgan says he’ll see what he can do.

Chris returns just as Wade Padalecki announces that he’s made a spicy chicken casserole and it should be ready in about an hour. Chris came out of Jensen’s room and Jared determinedly doesn’t ask him what they were talking about despite the fact that he really wants to know.

His mom snaps her phone shut and grins. “I’ve got you a spot on Oprah. We have to be at the studio by 9.00am next Thursday.”

Jared feels a rush of fury across the bond and then hears Jensen speak from just behind him.  “I have my Pharmacology in PT exam then,” he says. “And no disrespect intended, but maybe you should be checking with us before you go making arrangements for us to do things. You’re not our manager and we’re not D-List celebrities looking for publicity.”

Jared holds his breath and sifts the rampant emotions in the room to try to get a feel for the way things are going to go. Jensen may look calm and controlled, but Jared can feel the way his pulse is racing; the angry adrenaline coursing through his veins.

“I apologize,” his mom says after a moment of stunned silence. “You’re absolutely right. I should’ve checked with you and Jared first. When will you be available to go on Oprah?”

“Never,” Jensen says.

Jessica Padalecki frowns and fiddles with the bracelets on her wrist. “I know you’re not comfortable with putting yourself out there, Jensen. But we need to get in front here. Need to show everyone that you and Jared are just a normal couple.”

Jensen points out that normal couples don’t go on Oprah and he reiterates—yet again—that there is nothing the magi can do to convince the Church of the Holy Fire and its congregation that Jensen hasn’t been bewitched.  Jessica asks if there’s anything that would convince them and Jensen moves from the doorway into the room and rests his hands on Jared’s shoulders.

“I’d have to let them try to cure me of Jared’s ‘spell’.”

Jared can feel his fear through the bond and the way Jensen’s hands tremble where they rest on his shoulders.  He reaches up and grips one of Jensen’s hands, squeezing gently.

“You don’t have to,” he says. “We know the truth. You don’t owe them anything. If they don’t trust you enough to take your word for it, then,” he’s not sure how to finish the sentence because they’re Jensen’s family and besides, his mama’s in the room.

Privately, Jared thinks that if Jensen’s family is going to make him go through some sort of Inquisition-style trial to prove that he’s not bewitched, then they can get fucked. But he’s pretty sure that if he said it out loud his mama would try to send him to his room or something.

“We’ll see,” Jensen says. “But I’m not going on Oprah,” he smiles wryly. “It’d be totally counterproductive anyway. If I did that, my parents would be convinced I was bewitched. Or possibly possessed.”

They eat an early supper and try to keep the conversation light, as if Jensen is just a regular guy meeting his boyfriend’s family for the first time. Jared’s parents and Professor Morgan and Gen leave shortly afterwards and Jared and Jensen spend the rest of the evening studying.

By the time they go to bed, it’s late and they’re exhausted. Jared had kind of been hoping that maybe they’d have sex, but Jensen just says goodnight and switches off the lamp. It’s feels like he’s got a lot on his mind and Jared doesn’t want to seem like he’s pushing so he just pecks him on the cheek and rolls over.    

\--

The next day is weird. Jared has his Thaumaturgy Theory exam at 10.00am and as soon as he walks into the exam hall, people are craning their necks to gawk at him and there’s an upsurge in curiosity, and not just because he’s got a _Faire-Gadhar_ with him. There’s a little bit of envy in the emotions that swirl around him, but there’s also a lot of fear and worry too. He and Jensen have mostly been trying to avoid the news and social media, but maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to know what people are saying about them.   

Jared tries to talk to his classmates after the exam—he’s always been a friendly, gregarious guy and he’s generally pretty well-liked by everyone—but today, a lot of people are in too much of a hurry to chat. The few that will talk are mostly just curious to hear what it’s like to have a soulmate or they just want to pat Harley. When Jared asks what people are saying about the soulbonding he doesn’t really learn anything he didn’t already know; the Church of the Holy Fire is using it to whip up anti-magi sentiment and a lot of mundanes are scared.

Seeing as how he’s on campus anyway, Jared decides to call in and see Chad.

He still has some stuff in their dorm room and he may as well start picking it up and moving it to Jensen’s, because they’re not ever going to live apart again. And besides, he kind of wants to see his old roommate.

He knocks, because Chad could be doing anything in there and when Chad opens the door he’s wearing a tee-shirt but no pants and his hair is sleep-tousled.

“Sorry,” Jared says. “Is this a bad time?”

Chad squints at him and then frowns. “No?” he widens the door and lets Jared in. “You didn’t have to knock, you know. Your name’s still on the door.”

Jared nods. “It seemed like the polite thing to do.” He clears a space on his old bed, which is now covered in Chad’s dirty laundry, and sits down. “So. How are you?”

“Good. Nice dog.” Chad lets Harley sniff his hand and then runs a hand through his hair and looks Jared squarely in the eye. “This thing with Jensen…you didn’t bewitch him, right?”

“No. My magic just recognized him as my soulmate and we bonded.”

Chad nods. “That’s what I’ve been telling people,” he shakes his head. “Something like this, it really tells you who the fuckers are. They’re all down with the magi when y’all are turning water into wine for frat parties, but then this happens and it’s like all this prejudice that was sitting just below the surface starts oozing out, like it just needed an excuse. I gotta tell you, Jay, it’s been really fucking disappointing. I’ve had to dump people I thought were friends.”

Jared finds himself feeling ridiculously touched. “You dumped friends for me?”  

Chad squints at him again. “I dumped them because they were prejudiced assholes. Anyone who knows you knows that you’re a nice guy. Far too nice to bewitch someone into becoming your sex slave.”

Jared forgets how to breathe and when he remembers that it’s a necessity he gasps so hard that he chokes and coughs. Chad comes and slaps his back and then sits down beside him with a sigh.

“Goddess above,” Jared finally manages to say. “That’s what people are saying?”

Chad nods. “And I keep telling them, I’m way hotter than that Ackles dude and I freaking love going to orgies, which Ackles would never, because he’s an uptight Holy Fire freak, so if Jay was the sort of guy to put a spell on someone to make them become his sex slave, it would’ve been me, his roommate of twelve months.”

Honestly? Jared isn’t sure whether to laugh or cry so he settles for letting his jaw drop and looking at Chad with wide eyes.

“Thank you?” he says finally.

Chad beams proudly. “You’re welcome, Asshole.”

Jared isn’t quite sure why he’s the asshole, but okay.

He packs up most of the rest of his stuff into a couple of duffel bags and tells Chad that he’ll be back for the rest when he has time. As he strolls across the campus Jared hears a few muttered comments and there’s a Holy Fire prayer group in the Quadrangle that gets really _loud_ when he and Harley walk past. At one point, as he’s walking down the sidewalk toward Jensen’s (and his now too) off-campus apartment, he gets the sense that he’s being followed. Even Harley seems suspicious if the way he keeps looking behind them and growling is any indication.

Jensen isn’t yet back from his Anatomy exam and Charisma is out, but Chris is home. He’s playing guitar in the living room with Steve.

Jared makes small talk with them for a little while and then excuses himself to go and make himself some nachos. He retreats to Jensen’s bedroom with Harley and a large plate of cheese and salsa soaked corn chips. He hopes his boyfriend won’t get mad at him for eating on the bed. He calls his mom and begs off her suggestion that he and Jensen meet them at their hotel and go out for dinner. He tells her they’ve got too much studying to do, which is true. But more truthfully Jared just needs to spend some quality time with his soulmate. They’d both agreed to keep their blocks fully in place while they were doing their exams and it’s the right thing to do, but Jared misses Jensen when he can only sense his presence as a dull, background buzz rather than a bright, white hot dazzling presence in the forefront of his brain. When he hears the front door open and close and voices start up in the living room, Jared lowers his barriers and Jensen’s anger slams into him.

Jared is off the bed and out of the bedroom before he’s even finished processing all the emotions that Jensen is emitting.

“What’s wrong?” he demands, striding into the living room.

Jensen turns to face him, his green eyes burning. “Professor Brown wouldn’t accept Sadie’s paperwork. Said she didn’t qualify as a ‘service dog’ and she couldn’t come in. Sadie thought he was threatening me—which he kind of was, and she did the whole, you know, three heads, red eyes, and roaring thing. Scared the crap outta me. And Professor Brown. I had to get Professor Morgan to come and deal with him; explain that she’s my protection on account of ‘credible threats’ and she’s been approved by the College and City Hall,” Jensen shakes his head. “I always thought Brown was all right, you know? Now I find out he’s actually a bigot.”

Jared wraps his arms around his soulmate and holds him tight. Jensen has probably always been aware that the magi face prejudice; he just hasn’t had that prejudice impact him personally on a regular basis. It must be an eye-opening experience.

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%208_zpsr9aljhtb.jpeg.html)

Jensen sighs and pulls back. “Yeah,” he says. “Knowing something intellectually and experiencing it yourself are two very different things.”

Jensen puts his stuff away and goes to brew a pot of coffee. Jared sits down at the table and watches him putter about. Jared frowns to himself. Yesterday, his dad had dismissed the threats that were being made as no more than the usual rantings of the lunatic fringe, but today Professor Morgan said that Jensen was allowed to have Sadie in the exam hall because of a credible threat. Which was it?

“Jensen,” he says. “I think we’re gonna have to brave the social media cesspool to see what’s being said about us.”

Jensen wrinkles his nose. “Yeah,” he says. “I think you’re right. Let’s do it tonight.”


	3. "Remedies prescribed for those who are Bewitched with Inordinate Love"

Online is an ugly environment. Jared and Jensen go on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. They go on reddit and magi blog sites and mundane blog sites and when they’re done they’re both silent and shaken.

“There’s an awful lot of hate out there,” Jensen says finally.

Jared nods. “It scares me sometimes,” he says. “Makes me wonder why the Lord and Lady are still bothering with us. Why not just throw us in the cosmic trash heap and start over?”

Jensen shrugs. “I guess they see something worth saving.”

Jared is feeling pretty dubious about that. “Even the mainstream media is saying some pretty ugly things.”

“That was Fox News,” Jensen says. “You can’t expect anything decent to come out of Fox News.”

“But still--”

Jensen interrupts him. “Let’s agree to go back to ignoring the media; mainstream and social. In my opinion, your dad’s right. The people making threats are just your loudmouthed keyboard warrior types. I don’t think either of us is at any genuine risk.”

Jared nods and decides not to tell Jensen that he thought someone had been following him today. He was probably just being paranoid.

“Oh,” Jensen says suddenly. “Professor Morgan gave me a couple of books on soulbonding. And he said that the Head Librarian is prepared to let us into the Restricted Section if Professor Morgan and one of the other librarians supervise us.”

Jared’s eyes light up. “Wow.”

“And,” Jensen adds, “apparently the world’s leading authority on soulbonding, the woman who wrote one of the books Professor Morgan gave me, wants to fly out from England to meet us.”

“Wow,” Jared says again.

“Yeah,” Jensen sighs. “We’re sort of turning into celebrities whether we want to or not.”

Jared can feel his despondency through the bond. They’re sitting side-by-side on the bed, legs outstretched, and Jared moves Jensen’s laptop and throws a leg over Jensen’s legs so that he can sit facing him, on his lap.

“I know how to make you feel better,” he says, leaning forward and resting his hands on the headboard, either side of Jensen’s head.

“Is that a fact?” Jensen’s tone is nonchalant, but his pupils are dark and Jared can feel the want zinging through his veins.

“Yeah,” he says and leans forward.

Jensen tips his head back and parts his lips and the kiss is long, deep and satisfying. Pretty soon Jared’s hands are in Jensen’s hair and Jensen’s hands are up underneath Jared’s tee-shirt, clawing at his back. They’re thrusting against each other and it’s just starting to get really good when a sharp, angry rapping at the bedroom door makes them spring apart.

“Guys, we’re trying to study,” Chris yells. “So stop making Charisma horny.”

Jared climbs off Jensen. “Sorry,” he calls.

“Fuck,” Jensen thunks his head back against the headboard.  “We’re gonna need to get our own place.”

Jared couldn’t agree more.

They decide to take a metaphoric cold shower by reading the books on soulbonding that Professor Morgan gave them. They don’t learn anything they didn’t already know, but at least they’ll be able to confirm for the expert—Dr Caroline Chikeze—that her theories are right.

The only thing that she wasn’t sure about was whether or not someone who was soulbonded could survive their soulmates death; apparently the information in the old, pre-Burning times texts that had survived the pyres was contradictory on the subject.

“What do you think?” Jensen asks Jared.

Jared shakes his head. “I don’t know. I think it’d suck. I think it’d really hurt. Like, I feel what you feel, so if you died, I’d feel that. But would I survive it? I just don’t know.”

“Yeah,” Jensen is running his fingers up and down Jared’s side and it’s comforting. Jared can’t help leaning in to him. “Imagine being us for a whole lifetime—like fifty or sixty years—and then suddenly, it’s just gone. I’m not sure I’d _want_ to survive,” he purses his lips. “Maybe it depends how long the bond’s been formed for? Maybe if one of us died this week, the other one would survive, but if we’d been bonded for fifty years, the shock would be too great?”

Jared thinks that sounds reasonable, but unless there’s something on the subject of soulmate death in the college library’s restricted section he figures they won’t be finding out until one of them dies. So hopefully, not for a very, very, very long time.

“Do you want hot chocolate?” Jensen asks.

Jared perks up. “With marshmallows?” he asks hopefully.

“Don’t I always make it with marshmallows?”

Jared bounces a little. “Yes, please.”

Jensen laughs. “Man, you are easy to keep happy.”

Sadie is lying down outside their bedroom door and Harley is on the sofa in the living room. While Jensen makes the hot chocolate, Jared takes them outside to do their business and then spends some time playing with them before showing them to their doggie beds and telling them to sleep there. Harley looks mournfully at the sofa and Jared doesn’t like their chances of Harley staying in his doggy bed, but at least he’ll start off there.

As he passes the kitchen he hears Chris talking quietly with Jensen, apologizing for cock blocking earlier and telling him that he and Charisma have finished studying now (it’s nearly midnight) so it’s okay if he and Jared want to mess around some more.

“Aw, man,” Jensen says and Jared grins imagining his bright red face and the way he’s ducking his head right now.

“No seriously,” Chris says. “Mess around all you want. Charisma wants to do a ritual so the extra energy will probably be really helpful.”

Jensen makes a sort of strangled sound and Jared decides to go to his rescue.

“Hey,” he says coming into the kitchen, “I took the dogs out and told them to go to bed.”

Jensen nods. He looks a little pale.

“You okay?” Jared asks.

Chris slaps Jensen on the back. “I just told your boy Charisma was planning on a ritual tonight. I thought being your soulmate might’ve made him less uptight, but I don’t reckon it has.”

Jensen glares at him. “Screw you,” he says.

“No thanks,” Chris says. “I don’t swing that way. I’m sure Jared’ll take care of you though.”

He pats Jensen on the cheek, nods at Jared and swaggers out of the kitchen.

“I’m not uptight,” Jensen pouts.

Jared nods and Jensen stares at him for a moment and then stomps out of the kitchen.

Jared sighs and follows him to their bedroom.

Jensen is sitting cross legged on the bed with his arms crossed. Jared doesn’t need a mind bond to know that he is sulking.

“I’m not uptight,” he says. “You were the one who refused to have sex until we’d had three dates! I’ve had heaps of sex. I just think it should be a private thing.”

“I know,” Jared sits down beside him. “It’s the way you were raised. I think sex is something sacred. That it should be meaningful. But that doesn’t necessarily mean private to me and I guess I just find it a bit weird that you’d be cool with a meaningless hook-up because it was private, but horrified by a sacred ritual if it was public.”

Jensen hugs himself tighter. “Well the meaningless hook-ups are a thing of the past, obviously, but I can’t…in public…I just--”

“And you don’t have to,” Jared soothes. “Participating in public ritual is completely optional. I already told you that.  Just…try not to get all judgey about ritual sex, okay?”

“I’m not,” Jensen begins and Jared raises an eyebrow. His soulmate sighs. “I’m trying not to be,” he amends. “And this isn’t really even about that; it’s about the fact that they know what we’re doing and they’re so comfortable with it that they’re feeding off it. That’s just embarrassing.”

“Okay,” Jared says. “I mean, I don’t really get that, but okay,” he frowns. “I can _feel_ how you feel, but I don’t really understand _why_. I guess there are some limitations to soulbonds after all.”

Jensen chews on his bottom lip and squirms. Jared can feel his soulmate getting progressively hornier. And partly it’s because Jared is sitting so close beside him. Jensen likes the fact that he’s so big. And he really likes—

“Stop reading my mind,” Jensen grumbles and then pulls Jared in for a kiss.

“Are you sure you’re okay to have sex?” Jared says, pulling back just enough to speak. “I might not get it, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

Jensen palms Jared’s rapidly hardening dick. “Have you seen the size of this thing?” he says. “It’s always gonna feel a little uncomfortable at first.”

Jared rolls his eyes. “So you’re sure?”

Jensen nods. “I’m trying to think about it the way you do. Let go of my Holy Fire hang-ups. Plus, we haven’t fucked since the first night, and don’t get me wrong, what we have done has been awesome, but I’m a big fan of big dicks and most guys don’t have one.”

“You want me inside you?”

Jensen nods and his pupils blow wide when Jared stands up and starts to strip.

“C’mon then,” Jared says. “Get naked.”

Jensen sheds his clothes quickly and then scoots back onto the bed. He leans back on his elbows and forearms and then spreads his legs slowly and deliberately.

Jared swallows. He yanks open the bedside drawer and gets out the astro-glide. He takes his time opening Jensen up, waits until he’s begging for it— _please Jared, please_ —and then he suits up and slides inside, not stopping until he’s balls deep in Jensen who’s panting raggedly, his eyes screwed shut.

Jared gives him some time because he knows it hurts; can feel it himself through the bond. But he also knows that Jensen doesn’t mind the burn; that it’ll settle soon into a dull, deep ache and even that will transform into mind numbing pleasure once Jared gets to fucking him properly.

Jared feels it when Jensen is okay with him moving and he starts up a steady rhythm of slow deep thrusts, swivelling his hips and carving himself a place deep within Jensen.

Jensen is gasping and moaning quietly, his hands gripping Jared’s ass and pushing him in deeper, his own hips rising to meet Jared’s thrusts. Jensen’s cock is wet with precome and it’s sliding against Jared’s abs and Jared lets go of his blocks completely, allows himself to feel everything that Jensen is feeling and everything goes into overload as Jensen feels him feeling everything and reacts to it in the same amazing feedback loop of pleasure that Jared remembers from last time. Jensen’s making noises like a porn star and Jared just loses it, fucking him hard and fast and deep until they both explode in an earthshattering burst of ecstasy at exactly the same time.

They cling together as their heartbeats settle and their breathing steadies and Jared can feel Jensen trembling beneath him. He pulls back a little so that he can look at him.

“You okay?”

Jensen nods. He looks stunned. “That was mind blowing. I feel like all the lights should’ve exploded or something.”

Jared grins. “I think Charisma was channelling our energy.”

Jensen blushes and Jared can’t resist bending down and giving him a quick kiss.

“ _Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices_ ,” Jared quotes, “ _for behold—all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals_.”

Jensen wrinkles his nose. “Well I like that a lot better than: _For our God is a consuming fire who commands your worship; and he who fails to make burnt offerings will become ash in the fires of Hell._ Give me love and pleasure over that any day.”

“Your God is mean and scary,” Jared says.

Jensen winces when Jared pulls out. They clean up quickly and then lie spooned together, naked, until they fall asleep.

\--

The next couple of days are a blur of studying and exams. Jared’s parents are still in town; they’re handling the media and liaising with the local coven and generally keeping Jared and Jensen protected from all that, and they want the boys to come back home to Texas with them after their exams are over. Jared thinks it’s a great idea, but Jensen is not so sure. Charisma and Chris are going to spend some time with Chris’s family in Oklahoma so if they stayed they would have the place to themselves and Jared knows that Jensen would prefer to spend some time together, just the two of them, cementing their bond.

Jared _does_ like that idea. He does. It has a lot to recommend it. But the truth is, every single time he’s been out and about by himself lately he feels as if he’s being followed. He hasn’t said anything, but it’s got him a little on edge. Either way, they have to decide soon. Today was the last day of exams and a whole group of them are heading out to Cowboy Country to celebrate.  His parents want to head off early next week, so they’ll need an answer soon.

“You ready?” Jensen bangs on the bathroom door.

“Yeah,” Jared gives up on trying to make his hair look like less of a mop and opens the door. Jensen looks amazing. He’s wearing tight-fitting charcoal jeans and a forest green button down. _His_ hair is perfectly styled. 

Jared whistles. “Looking good, Ackles.”

Jensen grins, loose and easy. “You ain’t so bad lookin’ yourself, Padalecki.”

Chris and Steve are playing, so the whole gang has a table right at the front. There’s a lot of whooping and hollering and backslapping and everyone is pretty excited to be finished. Jared supposes that makes sense, given that Jensen and his cohort are in their final year. Jensen is staying on to do his post grad and Jared learns over the course of the night that Mike Rosenbaum is going on to do a post grad course too. He’s studying psychiatry and he’s telling Jared about his plans while Jensen gets them another pitcher of beer, when Tom Welling turns up looking pissed.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asks immediately.

Tom glowers. “Michael’s being an asshole.”

Jared met Tom’s boyfriend Michael Weatherly a couple of weeks back, the first time he came to Cowboy Country with Jensen. It had seemed to Jared that _asshole_ was Weatherly’s default setting.

“He refused to come out tonight because Jared was gonna be here,” Tom pulls out a seat and sits down. “Sorry Jared,” he says. “It’s because of the whole soulbonding thing. We’re both with the Church of the Holy Fire, but the stance the Church is taking on this is so wrong. It’s been pretty well established that magic can’t make somebody do something they don’t want to do and besides, anyone who knows you and Jensen,” Tom breaks off and shakes his head. “Sorry. We’ve been arguing about this all week.”

Jensen puts a jug of beer down on the table. “Arguing about what?”

Tom sucks in a deep breath. “You. And Jared. And how you’re not bewitched.”

Jensen sits down next to Tom and looks at him steadily. “So you don’t think I’m bewitched?”

Tom shakes his head. “But Michael does.”

Jensen thinks the words _Michael’s an ass_ pretty loudly, but he doesn’t say them.

Unfortunately, their conversation seems to have drawn attention to their group and Jared is suddenly aware of a change in the atmosphere, of people pointing and staring.

A big bearded man staggers up to their table.

“Fuckin’ witch,” he slurs, grabbing at Jensen and pulling him to his feet.

“He’s not a witch,” Tom is beside him immediately, trying to push the man away from Jensen.

Not that it should matter, Jared thinks. Not that it’s anything to be ashamed of. He gets to his feet and faces the drunken man. “ _I’m_ the witch. If you’ve got something to say, say it to me.”

“Fuckin’ _witch_ ,” the man sneers and takes a swing at him.

Jensen intercepts his fist and pushes him away and half a dozen of the man’s friends, who’d been hanging back, throw themselves into the fray.

And then it’s on; a brawl that quickly escalates as people take sides. A lot of people flee the sudden violence, but that still leaves dozens of people fighting viciously. Jared’s favorite moment is when Chris leaps off the stage and bashes a guy over the head with his guitar.  He’s also quite proud of his own quick thinking when some dude was about to hit Jensen over the head with a beer bottle: Jared transfigured it into a bunch of plastic red roses and the look on the guy’s face was priceless.

Soon enough the police turn up and separate the two groups of brawlers.  The angry atmosphere begins to dissipate as the magi in the police ranks work to calm the out-of-control emotions.

The opposition brawlers don’t do themselves any favors, continuing to shout out anti-magi slurs even as they’re detained. The police recognize Jared and Jensen and as the general consensus seems to be that a group of drunken anti-magi bigots decided to attack their table, the police kindly give them, as well as Charisma and Chris, a lift home.

Harley and Sadie are waiting for them with reproving looks on their faces and Jared thinks the dogs may have a point. They should have taken them to the bar tonight. They have papers that would’ve permitted them to enter the bar and protecting them from assholes who want to hurt them is what they were given the dogs for.

“Is everyone okay?” Jensen asks when the police have gone.

They are, mostly. Jensen has a bruise forming on his jaw and Jared has one coming up on his thigh. Chris has a splinter from when his guitar shattered, but Charisma is unhurt. She had stood with her back against a wall hurling hot sparks at anyone who came near her.

“You were so badass,” Jensen tells her admiringly.

Jared’s parents call because the police contacted them, which, frankly, Jared is a little pissed about. He’s an adult. It should have been up to him to choose whether to tell his parents. They, of course, insist on coming over, despite Jared’s protestations.

“Maybe we’re taking the wrong approach,” Jared’s dad says, when they’ve assured themselves that no one’s been badly injured. “Maybe we should keep you out of the public eye for a while, let it all die down. You really should come back to Texas with us. Spend your break on the ranch.”

Jensen shakes his head. “That’ll just spark rumors that you’re holding me hostage. There are already people saying that Jared put a spell on me to make me his sex slave. Hiding me away on a ranch in Texas is just gonna make those rumors spread.”

“I’m not sure I wanna stay here,” Jared admits. “Those people may feel sorry for you, but they hate me. And what with the people who’ve been following me--”

“What?” Jensen says sharply.

Jared swallows. “I didn’t wanna say anything in case I was just being paranoid, but, yeah. I think there have been people following me and I don’t really feel all that safe.”

Jensen stares at him for a long moment and Jared can feel the thoughts forming inside his soulmates head.

“No,” he says. “I won’t let you do that.”

“I have to,” Jensen says. “I won’t have people threatening you, making you feel unsafe. And this is the only shot I have at getting them to let it go.”

Jared reaches for Jensen and pulls him close. “No,” he says again. “It’s too big a risk. What if they hurt you? What if they won’t let you go again?”

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%204_zpsoccyokap.jpeg.html)

“What are you planning to do Jensen?” Jared’s mom asks.

Jensen meets her eyes. “I’m gonna go home,” he says. “I’m gonna let them try to ‘break the spell’.”

\--

Jensen holds Jared’s hand for the entire two and a half hours of their flight from LA to Texas. They’ll be parting ways at Austin airport. Jared will be heading off with his parents to drive to the family ranch just outside San Antonio, and Jensen’s expecting his parents—and probably half the Church hierarchy as well—to meet him at the airport.

To say that he’s nervous about this would be an understatement. Jensen knows that his family loves him, but he’s worried about what their attempts to ‘break the spell’ will entail and he’s scared that they’ll want him to stay so long that his separation from Jared will become painful.

He’s also going to miss Jared.

The airplane taxis to a stop and they wait until the seatbelt sign is turned off and then collect their hand luggage and make their way out of the plane and over to the baggage claim area.

The local Coven has organized to have Jared and his parents taken to their car through a side exit and Jensen holds his soulmate tightly, shoring up the mental bond us much as he can and trying to soothe the tremors he can feel running through the younger man’s body.

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image_zpswt6qerzw.png.html)

“It’s okay,” he says, again and again, “it’s gonna be okay.”

Eventually they break apart and Jared leaves. Jensen watches him until the door closes behind him and then tips his head back and takes a very deep breath. He turns slowly and makes his way past the baggage carousel and over to the automatic sliding doors that lead out to the waiting area.  

His parents and his siblings are waiting right at the front. Pastor Roberts too. Jensen could’ve done without the Pastor being there, but he can’t deny that he’s happy to see his family. His mom opens her arms wide and Jensen drops his bags and fall into her embrace, hugging her tightly. There are camera flashes. Jensen decides to ignore them.

“Is _he_ here?” his mom whispers into his ear.

“No. It’s just me, Ma.”

His mom pulls back and stares up at him searchingly. “You’re bruised.”

Jensen rubs a hand across his jaw. “We were out celebrating the end of exams. Some drunk anti-magi douchebags decided to attack us.”

Grace lowers her eyes and stands back as Jensen’s dad and his brother Gregory come forward and shake his hand.  There are more camera flashes.

Grace is still hanging back so Jensen holds out a hand to her. She comes forward slowly and then throws herself into his arms.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs.

“For what?”

“We need to talk,” she whispers.

And then Pastor Roberts is at Jensen’s elbow, booming something about freeing him from the witch’s enslavement and Jensen’s epic eyeroll is definitely caught by the television cameras.

It’s late in the afternoon and Pastor Roberts wants them to go straight to the Church to begin the prayer session that he says will overcome the spell _the witch_ has used to bind him.

Jared is an absolute expert when it comes to sad puppy dog eyes, but Jensen is no slouch himself and he pulls out his most soulful expression now.

“I’m tired, Ma,” he says. “And I was really looking forward to some of your amazing home cooking. We can do the Church stuff tomorrow, right?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” his mom says.

Grace’s smile is triumphant and Jensen’s not sure what to make of that.

The house looks no different; a white, ranch-style country house with a deep wrap-around covered porch and dormer windows. The carefully manicured front yard sits behind a white picket fence and Jensen has never been so aware before, of just what a whitebread, mundane ghetto he grew up in. There are no magi in this part of town and everyone on this block is a part of the local Holy Fire parish.

Back in his old bedroom, Jensen doesn’t bother to unpack, just dumps his suitcase and his backpack on the student desk and then lies on his old, single bed, on his back, with his arms folded behind his head. He looks around at all the carefully preserved relics of his childhood and is hit with a sudden feeling of sadness. There are no posters in the room, no colourful books with cracked spines and dog-eared pages, no CDs, no baseball trophies (despite the fact that he’d won them—Jensen was never allowed to bring them home, because Pride was a Fire Sin); no sign, in fact, that an actual person with an actual personality had once lived in the room.

Jensen closes his eyes. The smell of his mom’s chicken and biscuits is wafting up the stairs and the smell brings back so many memories; happy memories of family meals, of his family singing hymns together on a Sunday afternoon, him playing the piano with his mom while Grace and Greg played guitar. There are a lot of unhappy memories too; him lying in his room much like he is now, his belly filled with lead and stone at the thought of being expected to go out and spew hate that he just didn’t feel.

There’s a knock on his bedroom door and Jensen sits up and calls for his visitor to come in.

Grace opens the door and peeks her head around it.

“Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

Grace makes her way over to the bed and sits down. “ _Of course_ , is a lot more than I expected. I wouldn’t blame you at all if you hated me right now.”

Jensen shrugs. He doesn’t have the energy to parse the complicated emotions he feels for his family.

“Tell me about Jared,” Grace says, and it’s the first time one of his family hasn’t called his soulmate _him_ or _the witch_.

“Why?” he says.

Grace glances down at his old Mavericks quilt cover and when she meets his eyes again, hers are fierce. “Because he’s important to you. And because,” she bites down on her bottom lip, her eyes widening uneasily. “Because I’ve been talking to this girl I met online. Felicia. She’s a magus. She’s got a Youtube channel where she talks about religious mythology and she’s really interesting.”

“Yeah?” Jensen encourages.

Grace hides behind her bangs. “I’d been reading her stuff and, on a whim, I tagged her in one of the Churches tweets about the purity of fire releasing the evil inside witches so that they can ascend to Heaven when they die.”

“Ouch,” Jensen winces and Grace ducks her head.

“Yeah. It was pretty insensitive, huh? But Felicia tweeted back and she didn’t insult me or anything. She just…she engaged with me. She treated me like a real person. And she was so warm and funny and…so open to friendly, but passionate debate. But you know, there’s only 140 characters on Twitter, so she gave me her email address and we started up this really intense correspondence,” Grace smiles up at him shyly. “She was curious and never condemned me and she really made me think.”

Jensen nudges his sister with his shoulder. “Sounds like you’ve got a bit of a crush,” he teases.

Grace actually blushes and Jensen’s mouth drops open.

“Really?”

“I think so,” Grace says. “Maybe. I need to meet her in person, obviously, but uh, I talked to her about you and the whole soulbonding thing and she says the _Nasc Anam_ is real; and that it’s not possible to make someone fall in love with you using magic.”

Her words are like a balm to Jensen’s soul. Grace didn’t go away to school; she went to college locally and lived at home. She didn’t get the same opportunities that Jensen did to mix with the magi; to get to know them as people and not abstract incarnations of evil. If she can change her attitudes, then surely anyone can.

“So why are you still posting all that crap for the Church?” he asks. “And why did you email me?”

Grace explains that following her conversation with Felicia she’d gone to Pastor Roberts and tried to convince him that the _Nasc Anam_ was simply two compatible souls reaching for each other; the work of God not magic. Pastor Roberts’s expression had become more and more grave as they’d spoken and eventually he’d cut her off, his hand slicing the air as he’d thundered: “Enough!”

“This is why talking to witches is so risky,” he’d told her “They can’t help but weave their deceptive spells.”

“He prayed with me for hours,” Grace says, rubbing absently at her knees. Jensen wonders if he made her kneel on grains of rice while she prayed. Pastor Roberts had made him do that several times, when he’d first started refusing to go to pickets and hold a sign saying ‘God hates witches.’

“And he started saying all this stuff about women being the Devil’s altar and needing to be controlled.  I just wanted to get out of there so I told him what he wanted to hear.”

Grace folds her arms across her chest. “Things’ve really gone downhill around here over the last few months.”

She tells him that Patriarch Lucius has brought a new Inquisitor over from Europe. Inquisitor Heyerdahl has some really strange ideas about women, and since his arrival, the Patriarch has been busy demoting women from positions of authority in the Church.

“Two weeks ago,” Grace says, “the Patriarch issued an edict saying that more attention needs to be paid to the passages in the Holy Book that speak about women submitting to men. He said that Wiccans venerate the Goddess, but the Goddess isn’t real; she’s just a mouthpiece for the Devil. And that women are weak and can easily become a mouthpiece for the Devil if they’re not kept under the thumb. Suddenly, the entire Council of Elders was made up of men. The work I do online is monitored closely now,” she shakes her head. “So I had to keep towing the party line when it came to you and Jared. But I don’t believe it. Not any of it.”

“Then why did you email me and tell me that the Church could remedy Jared’s ‘spell’ with prayers and acts of devotion?”

Grace bites at her bottom lip. “I have a plan,” she says. “And if it works,” she rubs a hand nervously across her mouth, “if it works, then maybe the Wiccan Priestess was right about you and Jared. Maybe you are the way forward.”

\--

The candles are lit, the burnt offerings made and they all hold hands and give thanks to God for the gift of Fire and the food they have cooked with it.

Jensen’s a little rusty, but you don’t forget a lifetime of indoctrination in four years.

It’s been a couple of years since he was last home. Exams. Internships. Work. Lately, he always found some excuse to avoid going home. It’s hard settling into a devout family when you, yourself, no longer believe. He doesn’t know how Grace is managing to live a lie every day. He gives her hand a squeeze and she squeezes back. He wonders if Greg is still as devout as he used to be.

His mom’s chicken and biscuits is every bit as good as he remembers and he praises her cooking.

His mom beams. “It’s good having you home, Jensen. We’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” he says. Because he has. He’s even missed some of the religious observances. He just hasn’t missed the hate and the judgement.

“Jensen was telling me a bit about Jared earlier,” Grace says. “He’s a Freshman and he’s majoring in engineering.”

His parents look at each other. “I was surprised when I learned he’s younger than you,” his dad says.

Jensen isn’t quite sure what to say to that, so he helps himself to another serving of biscuits and some more gravy.

“He’s taller than Jen,” Greg says. “Reckon he’ll be a lot bigger one day, when he grows into himself.”

And boy oh boy isn’t Jensen looking forward to that. He loves being manhandled and one day soon Jared’s going to be built enough to do it properly. He feels a soft nudge at the bond—the first one he’s felt since he and Jared parted at the airport—and grins to himself. _Stop projecting_ , Jared chides.   _You’re making me horny_.

 _I miss you_ , Jensen sends back.

 _Miss you too_ , Jared replies. _Is everything going okay_?

 _Yeah_. Jensen lowers his block and lets Jared see his conversation with Grace, but before they can discuss it, Jensen is distracted by a loud throat-clearing. _Gotta go_ , he sends.

“Are you okay, Honey?” his mom asks. “You zoned out there for a minute.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Jensen tries not to look too guilty as he lies. “It’s been a hectic few weeks, what with exams and everything. I’m a little tired.”

“Well as I was saying,” his dad says with a frown. “Jensen won’t be bound to this person for much longer so I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to get to know him. He’s not Jensen’s boyfriend, he’s the witch who tried to enslave him with magic.”

Suddenly, the biscuits taste like ash. Jensen puts his fork down and takes a moment to get control of his emotions.

“Jared has never done anything to hurt me,” he says. “And even though I’ve agreed to let you try to break the spell, I don’t actually believe there is one. Jared is my soulmate.”

His dad’s lips thin and he shakes his head. “I know you want to think so, Jensen, but it’s just not possible. There’s no such thing as soulmates. It’s just blatant magical manipulation.”

“Jared isn’t manipulating me, Dad.”

His dad raises his eyebrows. “Isn’t he? Be honest. He was doing it just now, wasn’t he? Trying to control your mind via his spell.”

“No.”

His dad drops his fork and glares at Jensen. “Don’t lie to me, son,” he says.

Jensen swallows. “We were just talking, that’s all.”

“Talking?” his mom’s hand flutters to her mouth. “How could you be…” she trails off and looks at him in horror. “Oh dear Lord above,” she says. “You consummated the bond, didn’t you? How could you, Jensen? How could you?”

She pushes back from the table and hurries out of the room.

His dad stands up. He looks down at Jensen, his eyes hard and his mouth downturned. “I’m very disappointed,” he says. “And with a _witch_ of all people.”

He follows after Jensen’s mom and then Greg sighs and mutters something under his breath. He goes to the fridge and comes back with three beers, handing one off to Jensen and one to Grace.

“All right, Kiddo,” he says. “I’m clearly missing something important here, so spill. What are Mom and Dad suddenly so upset about?”

“Me and Jared consummated the bond,” Jensen says, his eyes fixed on the table as he waits for his brother’s condemnation.

“What does that mean?” Greg asks.

Grace snorts. “I think it’s kind of all there in the word ‘consummate’.   

Greg frowns. “You don’t mean consummate as in _consummate_?”

“Oh my!” Grace says. “Is there any other definition? Consummate. Verb. Make complete by having sexual intercourse.”

Jensen’s cheeks flare red as Greg side-eyes him. “Yee- hah, little brother,” he says. “You sly dog, you! That’s the benefit of going to college out of state, huh? Gets you out from under Mom and Dad’s thumb.”

Jensen meets his older brother’s eyes. “You’re not seriously telling me you’ve never…with anyone?”

“Nope,” Greg shakes his head. “Twenty-five year old virgin. I’ve been saving myself for marriage like Mom and Dad expect,” he frowns. “Of course, it’s probably easier for me. I know I’m only attracted to women, so I guess I didn’t feel the same need to try before you buy, so to speak, that I’m guessing you felt.”

“Yeah,” Jensen rubs at his neck. “I definitely enjoy both, but it’s kind of a moot point now that I’ve got Jared.”

Grace whistles low. “No way? You mean Jared wasn’t your first?”

Jensen ducks his head and shakes his head and Greg bumps shoulders with him.

“Goddamn,” his brother swears, “I knew I should’ve taken up that place at Columbia instead of staying in Texas,” he looks at Jensen admiringly. “You were the only one brave enough to do what you wanted, never mind what Mom and Dad wanted.”

“So you believe me then?” Jensen says. “You don’t think I’m bewitched with inordinate love like the Church believes?”

Greg toys with his chicken. “When all this went down, me and Grace read up on soulbonds and we both talked with some people we know. Non-Church people,” he pauses and then looks up and meets Jensen’s eyes. “I don’t know _why_ soulbonds exist, but I’m convinced that they do.”

“Me too,” Grace says. “And when we try to cure you of the Spell and it fails, then maybe it’ll get through to our people and they’ll stop believing that the magi have the power to control our actions.”

Jensen wishes he had her confidence.

Later, Jensen is changing to go to bed and chatting with Jared via their bond, when there’s a knock on his bedroom door.

“Just a minute,” he pulls on a pair of sweatpants, tells Jared he has to go, and opens the door.

It’s his mom.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure,” Jensen opens the door wider and steps back.

His mom walks to the center of the room and then stands there, staring at him and wringing her hands. Jensen goes and pulls the desk chair out and invites her to sit down, which she does with a tremulous smile.

Jensen leans against the wall with his feet crossed at the ankles and his arms folded across his chest.

“So,” he says.

“Jensen I want to apologize,” his mom begins.

Jensen raises his eyebrows. Okay, that? He hadn’t expected. But then his mom continues.

“We should never have let you go to college in California. Such a sin-filled State. Full of witches. Witches who have obviously wreaked havoc on you with their magics,” her eyes fill with tears. “Oh sweetheart. I can’t bear to see your soul at such risk.”

Jensen shakes his head, but he doesn’t want to argue. “Well tomorrow, you can try to cure me,” he says.

His mom wipes at her eyes. “We will. We’ll get you free, I promise.”

She comes and hugs him and Jensen hugs her back. “And if the bond doesn’t break,” he says, “will you accept that Jared is my soulmate?”

Him mom pulls back and looks up at him. “This witch may have strong enough magic to enslave your body. And I’m not happy about that, Jensen, not at all. But it wasn’t your fault you were bewitched. But that’s all it is. An enchantment. And you will be free of it tomorrow, because no witch is strong enough to ensnare your God-given soul.”

“Okay, mom,” Jensen says, his heart aching. “It’s gonna be a big day tomorrow. I better get some rest.”

His mom asks him to pray with her and he does, kneeling beside her at the foot of his bed, while she asks a God he no longer believes in to tear him away from the man he loves more than anything. When they’re done, his mom’s eyes are bright and fierce and Jensen is suddenly exhausted. He wishes his mom a goodnight and crawls into bed.

Sleep is a long time coming.


	4. "The Trial of Red-Hot Iron"

Jensen is blinded by camera flashes the moment his dad opens the door. Déjà vu.

“Step aside!” his father says, putting a protective arm around Jensen’s shoulders and throwing out a hand to shield him from the cameras. Jensen’s mom is on his other side and his siblings are behind them.

“Are you going to attempt to break the soulbond?” a reporter shouts.

Grace answers, in her role as Church spokesperson. “We’re going to Church to pray for our brother.”

“But are you going to try to break the bond?”

“Jensen wants to make sure there is no spell binding him to a witch. As well as prayer, we will be performing an old ritual and Jensen will be engaging in acts of devotion.”

“Jensen, are you doing this willingly?” another reporter shouts.

Jensen stops walking, despite his dad’s determined efforts to hustle him into the waiting car. “Yes,” Jensen says firmly, trying to spot the reporter who asked the question in among the crowd. A whole bunch more flashes go off. “When I walk out of the Church later on today, I want there to be no doubt that I am a free agent acting of my own free will with respect to my relationship with Jared. Thank you.”

He gets in the big, black town car that the Church has sent for his family.

There are more reporters at the Church and they shout out all the same questions that the ones back at home did. Grace and Jensen give the same answers and then they’re bustled inside the Church where Pastor Roberts, Inquisitor Heyerdahl and half a dozen acolytes are waiting.  They’re all in flaming red robes with cowled hoods and Jensen feels his pulse begin to race and his stomach begin to churn.

He swallows and turns to Grace who nods. “Everything’s gonna be okay,” she reassures and he hopes she’s right.

When Jensen had called on Friday night and told his parents that he would be flying home on Monday and he wanted help to overcome his bewitchment, they’d gone straight to Pastor Roberts, who’d organized a meeting with Inquisitor Heyerdahl straight away.  Inquisitor Heyerdahl had insisted that Grace and Jensen’s mom be kept out of the meeting where they’d planned how they were going to remedy Jensen’s bewitchment, but his dad and Greg had been there and Greg had told Grace everything.

Grace in turn had spoken to Felicia and she’d had a friend of hers sneak into the Church on Sunday night and rig up a series of hidden cameras and microphones.

As soon as Felicia got a signal from Grace, she was going to start broadcasting what was happening in the Church on her Youtube channel.

Pastor Roberts directs Jensen and his family to sit in the front pew, with two acolytes seated on either side of them. Inquisitor Heyerdahl is in the pulpit, flanked by the remaining two acolytes and as soon as Pastor Roberts has the Ackles family seated he joins Heyerdahl in the pulpit.

“We are here,” Heyerdahl intones, in a nasally voice, “so that Jensen Ackles, suspected to be under the enchantment of witchcraft, may undertake a series of ordeals thus proving his devotion to God, so that God may listen to our prayers and grant Brother Jensen remedy from his bewitchment.”

Jensen glances up at the Inquisitor. His face is shining in the light of the Holy Fire and his eyes are bright with fervor. Jensen swallows. He’s not convinced the man is entirely sane. And what’s this about ordeals? Jensen had sort of figured that he was going to be on his knees a lot, praying, probably until they got sore and swollen. He’d thought they may even make him kneel in rice. He’d figured there’d be lots of lighting candles while reciting prayers, writing out prayers and throwing them into the Holy Fire, and almost certainly walking over hot coals.

But the way Heyerdahl said _ordeals_ , has Jensen worried.

The Inquisitor makes the Sign of the Pyre and the Ackles family follow suit. He then announces the Gospel of the Sacred Fire and the Ackles family all drop to their knees to recite it alongside the Pastors and acolytes. There are prayers and readings from the Holy Book. The Inquisitor lights and extinguishes candles and throws prayer scrolls into the Holy Fire.

And then he calls Jensen up to the dais.

Jensen swallows and gets to his feet. He makes his way slowly to the raised platform and stands before the Inquisitor, trying not to shuffle nervously.

“Will you stay to bear witness?” the Inquisitor asks his family.

“We will,” his family replies.

“Your Reverence,” Grace says. “Patriarch Lucius has asked me to live tweet the process for the Church.”

Inquisitor Heyerdahl nods. “If at any time it becomes too difficult for you ladies to bear witness, please feel free to leave.”

Jensen’s breath gets stuck in his throat. That doesn’t sound ominous _at all_.

At first, things are as Jensen expected. Prayers. Candles. Throwing prayer scrolls into the Holy Fire. Kneeling in rice to pray; which hurts every bit as much as he remembered, only this time he can feel Jared in the back of his mind, sharing his pain and bolstering his ability to cope with it.

 _Are you watching online?_ Jensen asks. Jared says that he is, but that so far it’s all pretty boring.

And then Inquisitor Heyerdahl uncovers the Pit of Hot Coals and tells Jensen to take off his shoes and socks

 _It’s about to get more interesting_ , Jensen tells Jared as he roll his jeans up and prepares to walk the pit.  It’s been five years since he last did this, but Jensen had mastered the art of walking across hot coals by the age of ten, so he’s able to do it now without unduly hurting himself.

Heyerdahl examines his feet afterward and then makes him do it again. And again.

And then the Inquisitor does an elaborate, booming prayer, with lots of gesticulating and bowing in front of the Holy Fire.

Jensen looks across at his family and raises his eyebrows. His family looks equally as puzzled.

Inquisitor Heyerdahl reaches under the lectern and pulls out a small flogger.

“Take off your shirt, Jensen.”                                                           

“No.”

Heyerdahl raises an eyebrow. “Do you want to be cured?”

Jensen takes a step backward and adopts a defensive stance. “I don’t see how you hitting me is gonna overcome a spell.”

Heyerdahl smiles, his lips thin and insincere. “I’m not going to hit you. You need to perform an act of self-mortification in order to demonstrate your devotion and prove yourself worthy of God’s intercession.”

Jensen stares at him incredulously. He’s half expecting the man to laugh and say only joking, but it doesn’t happen. Heyerdahl holds his gaze and then in his strange, strangled voice he says, “Take your shirt off.”

Jensen checks in with Jared, who tells him that it’s his choice. _I’ll be here to support you, whatever you decide_ , Jared sends.

“Are you refusing to be cured?” Heyerdahl says thinly.

Jensen figures that he’s going to be the one wielding the flogger, and he doesn’t have to do it very hard. It’s probably just supposed to be symbolic.

He unbuttons his shirt and an acolyte steps forward to take it.

“Tee-shirt too,” says Heyerdahl.

Jensen complies and Heyerdahl hands him the flogger.

Jensen feels incredibly stupid. He turns away from his family so that he doesn’t have to see their faces while he does this and then he swings the flogger over his shoulder and onto his back, really, really softly.

He does it again.

And again.

“Harder!” Heyerdahl says.

Jensen hits himself a little harder and okay, _that_ hurt.

“Again!”

Crap. Jensen grits his teeth and does it one more time.

“Again!” Heyerdahl shouts. “Keep going!”

Jensen lets the flogger fall another three times and it _fucking_ hurts. He hits again, a fourth time, and is unable to keep the hiss of pain behind his clenched teeth.

“That’s enough!” his mom cries out. “This is just cruel, Pastor Roberts. Make him stop.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jensen sees Pastor Roberts go to mom’s side. He hears them talking quietly. His mom sounds distressed.

“Keep going,” Inquisitor Heyerdahl says.

But Jensen is done. He shakes his head and hands the flogger back to the Inquisitor.

“I can’t,” he says.

Heyerdahl takes the flogger and then nods his head. Two red-cowled acolytes grab ahold of Jensen’s arms and drag him to a small altar at the back of the dais. They bend him over it and hold him down.

Jensen can hear his mom screaming and Inquisitor Heyerdahl tells Pastor Roberts to get his family out of the room.

“I’m staying!” he hears Grace call out. “It’s my duty to bear witness and I’m not leaving.”

The thump of his heart is booming in Jensen’s ears, his breathing is harsh and he’s fighting hard to get free of the acolytes’ hold. He doesn’t have a lot of room to maneuver though, and when a third acolyte throws himself to the floor and takes hold of his ankles, he has to concede that he can’t move and that he won’t be going anywhere.

“You sonofabitch!” he pants.

“As he breaks, so shall _it_ break,” Heyerdahl intones.

And then he brings the flogger down hard across Jensen’s back, again and again, until Jensen starts to scream.

All Hell breaks loose then. Or at least, his family breaks loose from Pastor Roberts and the acolytes who are still trying to drag them out of the Church.

Jensen’s mom reaches him first and through the haze of pain, Jensen dimly thinks that he wouldn’t like to be in Heyerdahl’s shoes right now, Inquisitor or not.

“Get your hands off my son,” he hears her shout.

Suddenly, his dad’s by his side. Greg too. There’s pushing and shoving and yelling and then Jensen is free. He’d locked the bond with Jared down tight when Heyerdahl started to really hurt him and he cautiously re-opens it now to find Jared cursing and pleading on the other side.

 _I’m here_ , Jensen sends and the rush of relief and love is almost overwhelming. And then Jensen’s pain hits Jared and Jared cries out.

“Jared?” Jensen mutters.

_I’m here, I’m here._

Jensen’s back stops hurting and it’s awesome.

From somewhere behind him he hears a gasp.

“Oh my!” Grace’s tone is shocked. “Your back just healed all by itself.”

Jensen pushes himself up off the altar and cranes his neck, trying to look over his shoulder and see his back.

“Impossible!” says Heyerdahl.

Everyone—his family, the acolytes, the pastors—is standing on the dais in a loose semi-circle, and while they were very obviously fighting and grappling earlier, they are now all gaping at Jensen.

Heyerdahl lunges for the Holy Fire and grabs one of the ceremonial pokers from it.

“I’ll break his hold,” he shouts. “ _Potestas incendium! Potestas incendium_! Behold the trial of Red-Hot Iron! The power of Fire shall set you free!”

Jensen only has a moment to realize what the Inquisitor intends before the red hot poker—which he understands belatedly is actually a branding iron—is being pressed against his shoulder. Jensen screams and tries to move away, but the altar is directly behind him and he has nowhere to go.

The smell of burning flesh is sickening. Jensen is panting and tears are streaming down his face. When Heyerdahl removes the iron, the symbol of the Pyre is burned into the flesh of his shoulder and Jensen bites back a sob.

The pain stops as abruptly as it started and there’s a collective gasp as Jensen’s shoulder miraculously heals.

“Devilry,” whispers Heyerdahl. “Witchcraft.”

“Or maybe a miracle?” Greg says. “The work of God?”

He strides forward and holds his phone out for Inquisitor Heyerdahl and Pastor Roberts to see. 

“ _Let’s see that again_ ,” Jensen recognizes the tinny voice of the local TV station’s newsreader coming from his brother’s phone. He peers over Pastor Roberts’s shoulder and watches as the TV station broadcasts a special ‘breaking news’ bulletin, showing footage of Jared collapsing to the floor in his home, crying out and clawing at his back. He rips his shirt off and his back is scored with whip marks.

“ _Just moments ago, Felicia Day, star and producer of the award-winning web series_ Peace Out, Witches _, began broadcasting an attempt by the Church of the Holy Fire in Austin, Texas to break the soulbond between Jensen Ackles, great nephew of Patriarch Lucius Ackles and Jared Padalecki, son of noted magi activists Jessica and Wade Padalecki_.”

The TV station shows footage of Jensen being held down and flogged, which makes Jensen shift uncomfortably.

“How did they get that?” Pastor Roberts begins to cast about, obviously looking for cameras.

The TV station cuts again to the footage of Jared collapsing and ripping his shirt off and Jensen can’t help noticing that the scoring on Jared’s back looks identical to the scoring he saw on his own back.

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%207_zpsxfoys5et.jpeg.html)

“ _And then this happened_ ,” the newsreader says with hushed reverence.

A dark-haired man with intense blue eyes holds his hands out over Jared’s back and recites an incantation. His wounds heal. And then the TV station shows footage of Jensen’s wounds spontaneously healing, and Heyerdahl’s cry of _impossible_!

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%206_zpsvlwmzhly.jpeg.html)

Of course, what follows is Heyerdahl’s attempt to brand him and Jensen has to turn away from the agony that shows so clearly on his face.

The screen is now split in two and as Jensen sees himself branded he is also able to see Jared cry out and clutch at his own shoulder, where an identical brand appears as if by magic.  Once again the dark-haired man heals him. And once again, Jared’s healing is effective on Jensen as well.

“Witchcraft,” Heyerdahl mutters again.

Greg inclines his head. “In part,” he agrees. “But it’s much more than that. Anyone can see that.”

“We’re soulmates,” Jensen says. “Whoever the powers that be are, whatever you believe, they’ve joined our souls together. And Greg’s right; anyone can see that,” he pauses and looks Heyerdahl in the eye. “We’re done here.”

Before Heyerdahl can protest, Grace clears her throat. “Pastor Roberts? Inquisitor Heyerdahl? The police are outside. They’d like you to go and help them with their inquiries into what they’re terming _the assault on Jensen._ If you wouldn’t mind,” she holds a hand out and gestures down the aisle toward the door. “They’d prefer you to come out of your own free will.”

Pastor Roberts glares at her. “You can hardly claim the moral high ground, girl. You were live tweeting for the Church!”

Grace’s smile is really rather nasty. “No,” she says. “I was helping Felicia to film you.”

“Me too,” says Greg.

Jensen can’t help his gasp of surprise. Greg’s support of him—his acceptance that the soulbond is the real deal—has been an unexpected Godsend. But Jensen hadn’t realized that his brother was in on Grace and Felicia’s plan.

Greg grins at him. “I’m always gonna have your back, little brother.”

Inquisitor Heyerdahl throws up his cowled hood and then strides down the aisle toward the door with Pastor Roberts and the acolytes behind him.

Jensen and his family find a side door and sneak home without the press noticing.

\--

Jensen’s mom fusses around him for ages. Despite all the evidence to the contrary she doesn’t seem to quite believe that his back and his shoulder are fully healed and keeps dabbing him with anti-septic and muttering under her breath.

Eventually Grace and Greg gang up on her and drag her away from him.

“Have some iced tea, Ma,” Grace brings out a silver tray on which there’s a glass jug filled with his mom’s homemade iced tea and five glasses.

Jensen adds a slice of lemon to his glass of iced tea and then sits back and sips at it. Jared is a background presence in his mind. They’re not talking right now, just keeping the bond open enough to feel their connection. Occasionally one of them will send the other a nudge of love and affection—sort of like a Facebook poke, Jensen thinks with a smile. But otherwise they’re spending time with their families.

Jensen’s enjoying the pleasant family atmosphere when his dad leans forward with a sigh. He puts his glass down on the coffee table and then rests his elbows on his knees and looks at Jensen, who’s sitting opposite him.

“So I guess we need to talk,” his dad says, tone laced with reluctance.

Jensen nods. He’s been expecting some questions about the soulbond from his parents. He’d talked about it at length with Grace and Greg, but his parents hadn’t been in the room at the time.

“It does seem,” his father says, “that there is some sort of ‘bond’,” Jensen can hear the sceptical quotation marks around the word ‘bond’, “between you and this Padalecki wi— boy. However, he is _still_ not a suitable companion for you. Just because there’s this _thing_ tying you together, doesn’t mean you have to _consort_ with him.”

And just like that, Jensen’s dreams of a happy future where his family and Jared’s get along, go flying out the window.

 _What’s wrong_? Jared enquires.

Jensen lets Jared see the memory and his soulmate’s sorrow and guilt come drifting back along the bond.

 _Not your fault, Jared_ , he says and then he sighs.

“Actually, Dad, it does mean exactly that. The bond requires us to be together. If we spend too long apart it gets painful.”

He doesn’t mention that it only seems to become painful for _him_ , because that’s a whole other can of worms that he doesn’t want to open. Although…now that the bond is fully formed, presumably Jared will feel his pain too.

“Be that as it may,” his mom says, “that’s not a reason why you would need to be _intimate_ with him.”

Jensen bites at his lip and looks away. “Uh, actually the bond…kind of requires that too.”

His mom expels a harsh breath of air and then breathes in raggedly. “Oh,” she runs a hand through her hair. “So the magi can just go around forcing bonds on others that force those others to have immoral sex with them whether they want to or not!”

“Jared didn’t cause this,” Jensen’s getting really sick of having to say that.

“He’s right, Ma,” Greg chimes in. “And you know that as well as he does. You’ve read all the same research and reports and you _saw_ today.”

“Besides,” Grace says. “They’re soulmates. A perfect match. Destined to be together. I seriously doubt there’s any part of this relationship that Jensen doesn’t want. Except maybe this whole drama,” she waves her arms around her head.

Naomi Ackles stares at Grace, her expression one of complete non-comprehension and then she turns back to Jensen.

“I think you should move back home,” she says. “I understand that you’ll have to go and see the magus on occasion to meet this awful bond’s requirements, but afterwards you can do a purification ritual and asks God’s forgiveness for sinning with a, with a magus. I’m sure the Good Lord won’t bar you from entering Heaven when this clearly isn’t your fault.”

Jensen puts his iced tea down very carefully and sits up straight on the edge of his seat.

“I’m not going to do that,” he says. “Jared is my soulmate and I’m gonna spend my life with him. In a few years, when the time is right, we’re going to get hand-fasted. We may even contract children with a female same-sex couple. We’re going to be a family, mom. Not some dirty little secret.”

His mom’s face hardens. She gets to her feet and stares down at him impassively. “In that case,” she says, her voice remote, “I only have one son.”

She leaves the room and Jensen’s dad sighs and gets to his feet.

“Now look what you’ve done,” he says to Jensen before following after his wife.

In the wake of his parents exit, the living room is silent. Jensen has put his blocks back at full strength, but even so, he can feel Jared hammering on the other side.

“I’m sorry,” Jensen says when the silence gets to be too much.

“It’s not your fault,” Grace gets up from the armchair where she’s sitting and comes to sit beside him on the sofa. Jensen has his big sister on one side of him and his big brother on the side. It’s unexpectedly comforting. “You know they love you, right?” Grace says.

Jensen scoffs. Apparently he’s not even his mom’s son anymore.

Grace shakes her head. “She didn’t mean that. She just…she’s terrified. According to everything she’s spent her whole life believing with every fiber of her being, by being intimate with a magus, you’re condemning yourself to an eternity in the fires of Hell. She loves you. She doesn’t want that for you. She thinks that if she threatens you enough, you’ll--”

“What?” Jensen interrupts. “Miraculously stop being who I am? _What_ I am?”

Grace smiles. “Yeah, something like that. You’re just gonna have to give them time.”

“She’s right, Bro,” says Greg. “Although it was probably that whole ‘hand-fasting’ thing that pushed her over the edge. That’s a Wiccan ceremony; it’s not recognized by the Church.”

“I know that.”

Greg nods. “Are you going to Convert?”

Jensen shrugs. “Maybe.”

“If you do, you’ll have to go Orgies,” Greg wiggles his eyebrows like a vaudeville villain.

“No I won’t,” Jensen feels his cheeks heat. “The Orgies are strictly voluntary. Although I will say that dancing half-naked on a beach, under the Full Moon is a helluva lot of fun.”

Grace snickers. “You didn’t!”

Jensen nods solemnly.

“Half-naked?” Grace sounds slightly scandalized.

“Well, I just had my jeans on, and they were rolled up to my knees. I had my shirt off. Shoes and socks too.”

Grace giggles. “Oh my,” she says. “It’s always the quiet ones.”

 Greg grins at her. “Hey, do you remember that Drawing Down the Moon Ceremony that we picketed, back when you were a senior in High School and I was a junior?”

“Oh yeah,” Grace’s eyes go wide. “We were supposed to be standing with our backs turned to the Filth and Degradation, but you and I both got busted for looking. We both wanted to see some boobs!”

“We got in so much trouble,” Greg shakes his head and then bumps Jensen’s shoulder. “You were the only one of us who didn’t look. We thought you were so pious.”

“I was embarrassed,” Jensen says. “I was holding a sign that said _God Hates Witches_. Like I wanted to make eye contact with anyone while I was holding that.”

“Well,” Greg grins sheepishly, “it wasn’t exactly _eye_ contact I was hoping for!”

He and Grace dissolve into a fit of the giggles and Jensen can only stare at them and shake his head. “You’re like middle schoolers,” he says. “ _I’m_ supposed to be the baby in the family.”

“You’re all a disgrace,” Jensen’s dad says from the doorway. “There is nothing at all humorous about this situation.”

He stomps away, but his appearance sobers them all up.

“Well,” Greg smacks a hand down on Jensen’s thigh. “I’ve got some phone calls to make,” he looks over Jensen’s head at Grace. “What we talked about, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Grace says.

Greg leaves the room and Jensen tries to get Grace to tell him what Greg meant, but she just shakes her head and tells him to wait and see.

\--

It doesn’t take Jensen long to pack—he never really unpacked, it’s really just a case of shoving his dirty clothes and his sleep clothes back in his duffel bag and getting his toothbrush, deodorant, shaving stuff and hair stuff from the bathroom. When he opens his bedroom door, duffel bag swung across one shoulder, he finds his mom standing on the other side, about to knock.

“What are you doing?” she says.

 Her eyes are red-ringed and puffy.

Jensen’s chest aches. “Figured I should leave. You know, seeing as I’m not your son anymore.”

A single tear rolls down his mom’s cheek.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it. It’s just,” more tears roll down her cheeks. “I don’t understand how you can stand to be with someone whose ancestors sold their souls to the Devil for power. That’s a legacy that lives on in the genes of all witches. He’s destined for Hell, Jensen, and I don’t want him to take you with him.”

Jensen closes his eyes briefly. His parents’ beliefs leave him feeling wretched and heart-sick. “I don’t believe that, mama,” he says. “The magi are just a human variant. What they can do, it isn’t really magic. It’s just manipulating energy in ways that mundanes can’t.”

“That’s not what the Church teaches,” she says, her mouth pursed.

“I know,” Jensen says gently. “The Church is wrong.”

Her mouth becomes a thin line. “The Church can’t be wrong. The Patriarch is infallible.  His teachings aren’t to be questioned.”

“I’m sorry, mama,” Jensen says. “But I just don’t share your beliefs any more. I’m not sure I ever really did.”

Of course, his mom wants to know how he can be sure that Jared didn’t bewitch him to make him stop believing. Jensen confesses that he hasn’t believed for a long time now, since long before he met Jared.

“Besides,” he says, “don’t you think it’s a little too convenient, the way anybody who dissents is immediately dismissed by the Church as no longer acting of their own free will?”

His mom’s eyes meet his and Jensen can see the uncertainty in them. “I don’t know,” she says, turning away. “I just…I know what I’ve been taught to think, but… I just don’t know any more.”

Jensen follows her down the hallway and asks her if it’s okay if he waits in the living room.

“Jared’s gonna come and pick me up.”

“You called him?”

Jensen rubs the back of his neck. “We spoke.”

His mom smooths down the front of her floral blouse. “Oh,” she says, “By,” she taps her head.

Jensen nods. “Yeah.”

She shakes her head. “It’s not natural, Jensen.”

He snorts. “Oh, and cellphones are?”

His mom pats at her hair and manages a half-smile. “I guess not.”

Greg appears, carrying a box.

“Has Jared left yet?” he asks.

Jensen puts the question to his soulmate and then tells Greg that he hasn’t.

Greg nods. “Tell him not to. I’ll drive you down in a couple hours.”

“Okay.” 

Greg heads out to his truck. Jensen and his mom follow him to the front door and watch as he puts the box in the truck’s tray. There’s actually quite a lot of stuff in the tray already.

“What are you doing?” Jensen’s mom asks when Greg comes back inside.

Greg looks over her shoulder to Grace, who’s coming down the hall carrying a suitcase and a duffel bag.

“Grace?” his mom says, her brow furrowing. “What’s going on?”

Grace puts the suitcase down. “We’re moving out,” she says. “Greg and I got an apartment in Cherrywood.”

His mom’s face blanches. “But…why?” she says.

“It’s just time,” Greg says, coming up behind and putting a hand on her shoulder. “We both want to make some changes in our lives. Spread our wings a little.”

“What do you mean?” Jensen’s mom is sounding a little panicked now.

“Well, for starters I gave the Archdiocese my notice today,” Greg says. “I’ve accepted a job with UAT’s legal team, which I’ll start next Monday.”

Naomi Ackles turns to Grace. “What about you? You didn’t quit your job too, did you?”

Grace nods. “I don’t have a new job yet, but I’ve got some feelers out.”

“But why Cherrywood? I know it’s close to the college, but…it’s a mixed area. And mostly Wiccan too,” she turns back to Greg, her face etched with real worry. “You’ll still come to Church, won’t you?”

Greg makes eye contact with Grace and then shakes his head. “I don’t think so, Ma. I think we’re gonna take a step back from religion for a while.”

“But you can’t!” Naomi wails. “The Patriarch will excommunicate you! He’ll make us cut off contact with you.”

“I haven’t gone to Church for years,” Jensen ventures. “You didn’t cut off contact with me.”

Greg says that it’s different when you’re away at college. They let you get away with stuff because you’re barely more than a kid. But consciously stepping away from the Church as an adult is very much frowned upon. Especially if you’re an Ackles.

All the wailing has brought their dad out from his study and as soon as he hears Greg and Grace’s plan everything gets really heated.

Jensen slips outside and goes and sits in his brother’s truck. He updates Jared on what’s going on and Jared tells him that it’s not his fault. Jensen knows that. Everything with Greg and Grace has obviously been building slowly for some time. The soulbond and the Church’s reaction to it just acted as a catalyst. That knowledge doesn’t stop him feeling guilty though; as if he is somehow responsible for tearing his family apart.

 _Stop that_ , Jared tells him firmly.

Greg and Grace come outside and head for the truck, both looking grim.

“I’m sorry,” Jensen tells them.

“It’s not your fault,” Greg says. And then he swears as a van from the local news station turns onto their street.

“Let me handle this,” Grace says.

As the van parks on the street in front of the house, Grace strides across and has an animated conversation with the people in the van.

She’s back a moment later. “I’ve promised them a quick interview in exchange for letting us get gone and not hassling us. Y’all up for that?”

Jensen nods and so does his brother.

They set up beside the van and then Grace makes a statement, telling the reporter that she and Greg support Jensen and his soulmate Jared unconditionally, that she and Greg have now left the Church after a period of growing discomfit with its teachings, and that she would personally like to apologize unreservedly for all the hateful things she has ever said to and about the magi.

The reporter mentions the brutal treatment Jensen received at the hands of the Church’s inquisitor and then asks Jensen how he’s feeling.

“Great,” Jensen says. “No lasting effects thanks to my soulbond with Jared.”

“And your relationship with magi Jared Padalecki is completely consensual?”

“Completely,” Jensen says, his eyes hard and unyielding. “Although having to keep reassuring people of that is getting annoying. There’s been enough research done to prove that the magi can’t make anyone do anything they don’t want to do.”

The reporter sensibly abandons that line of questioning and asks Jensen what he thinks should happen to Inquisitor Heyerdahl.

Greg steps in smoothly and says that’s a matter for the courts to determine, however he will be speaking with his brother about suing the Church for Heyerdahl’s actions, which were, after all, undertaken on their behalf.

The reporter asks Jensen if there is anything he’d like to say to the viewers. He thinks for a moment and then says,

“Just that if Jared and I could have one wish, it would be that everyone could just get along. Magi, mundane, what does it matter? People come in all sorts of shades and shapes and sizes and sexualities; the magi gene is just one more difference. We need to learn to embrace our similarities and celebrate our differences, because if you think about it we’ve got such an amazing, awe-inspiring, diverse planet and we get to be alive. To me, that’s the real magic.”

\--

The black Ford truck has barely stopped when Jared flings open his front door and races out. He stops just short of the truck, peering at it and biting at his lip until Jensen appears from the back seat. Jared closes the distance between them quickly and takes his soulmate in his arms, kissing him passionately and then hugging him tightly.

[ ](http://s51.photobucket.com/user/zarazee71/media/You%20can%20do%20magic/image%209_zps1eeflref.jpeg.html)

“I missed you so freakin’ much,” he mutters into Jensen’s hair. Which smells amazing. Jared takes a good sniff and he feels Jensen’s amusement through their bond.

“Freak,” says Jensen. He pulls away and looks warmly up at Jared. “I missed you too.”

There’s a bang and Jared’s eyes dart back to the truck. Grace and Greg have just got out and they’re standing awkwardly by their closed doors.

Jared’s not going to lie. He’s a little nervous. Not so long ago these people were talking like they thought that Jared and his family should be burned at the stake. He knows from Jensen that they haven’t really thought that for a long time; that they were just towing the party line, but he’s still half expecting them to shout _God hates witches_ at him or something.

“They won’t,” Jensen murmurs. “Come and meet them.”

The walk hand-in-hand toward the truck and the introductions are made.  Jensen’s siblings seem just as nervous as he is; which Jared supposes is something. One thing’s for certain and that’s that Jensen and his siblings were all definitely made using the same incredibly hot mold. Jared takes a second long look at Greg and, for just one brief moment, allows himself to imagine—

“Goddess above,” Jensen says, smacking his arm hard. “He’s my brother!”

“I was in between you!” Jared says indignantly, rubbing at his arm. “You two weren’t--”

Jensen claps a hand over his mouth.

 _Way to be a stereotype_ he sends.

Oh yeah. That probably didn’t help at all with the _all witches are sluts_ stereotype that Jensen’s siblings probably believe.

“Sorry,” Jared says. “When I’m nervous my brain likes to babble inappropriately.”

“Don’t sweat it, dude,” Greg says, slapping him on the arm. “You’re obviously a man of taste. I’m flattered. Totally straight though.”

Jared grins and then invites them in. “You’re still planning on staying the night, right? Mom made up both of the spare bedrooms. Oh, and Misha and Felicia waited to meet you!”

Grace squeaks. “Felicia’s _here_?”

“Oh yeah,” Jared grins. “She did her webcast from here. It was _awesome_! And then she wanted to stick around to meet Jensen.”

Grace’s smile dims, just a little and Jared’s grin turns wicked.

“Of course, then she found out you were coming too and she kind of grabbed hold of my arms and jumped up and down squealing,” Jared lowers his voice. “I actually wasn’t supposed to tell you that!”

Jensen and his siblings had driven from their parents’ house to the furnished apartment that Greg had rented in Cherrywood. They’d unloaded their stuff and done some basic shopping and then Jensen had let Jared know that they were on their way, smugly thinking that they were going to save a truckload in cell phone costs.

The drive from Cherrywood to San Antonio was about an hour and a half and they stopped for a snack just outside of San Marcos. By the time they arrived at Jared’s place it was a little after six in the evening and it had been a long day.

As soon as they are inside, Jensen finds himself being enthusiastically hugged by both of Jared’s parents and then introduced to Misha, who turns out to be the dark-haired man who Jensen had seen healing Jared.

“Thank you,” Jensen says. “I don’t know how magi healing works, but thank you.”

“I’d explain it,” Misha replies, “but I spent eight years learning this shit in college and it would take too long. Vicariously healing you through Jared, though; that was a first. Would you mind taking your shirt off? I’d like to take a look at the site of your wounds.”

Thankfully, Jared’s mom steps in and suggests that maybe they can do that later, in private. She introduces Felicia who is vibrating with so much positive energy that Jensen feels it buzzing through his bond with Jared.

 _Whoa_! He sends.

 _Tell me about it_ , Jared sends back. _She’s great._ _But her energy levels are so high and she’s so empathic, that it can be exhausting._

She talks a mile a minute too. Asks Jensen questions and then answers them herself before he can get a word in edge ways.

“Felicia,” he finally manages to say, “I believe you know my sister, Grace?”

He reaches out an arm and drags Grace forward.

“Hi,” Felicia says.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Grace says formally.

Felicia looks her up and down, grins suddenly, and pulls her in for a hug. She whispers something in Grace’s ear that has his sister blushing furiously and when Jensen looks around, he finds Greg talking with Misha, his brother’s eyes as big as saucers. Jared’s parents are watching the whole scene unfold with happy expressions, their arms around one another.

“Come on,” Jared says. “I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.”

Jared practically drags Jensen down the hall to a bedroom and he’s on him the moment the door shuts, shoving him up against the closed door and practically devouring him with his lips and his tongue.

“Fucking missed you,” he says when he finally pulls away.

Jensen’s lips are slick and swollen and he looks slightly dazed. It’s a good look and Jared is proud to have caused it.

A moment later Jared’s mom bangs on the door.

“Wow,” she says when Jared opens it. “Charisma wasn’t kidding. You boys better cool it until we’re all in bed tonight unless you want Grace and Greg to be faced with an impromptu orgy and I really don’t think they’re ready for that.”

Jensen turns scarlet.

“Sorry, mom,” Jared says. He can sense Jensen’s embarrassment at the fact that he’s talking with his mom about sex and he understands it intellectually, but the magi—and Wiccans—just think about sex differently. It’s something natural, sacred and beautiful; not something dirty and sinful.

They leave Jensen’s duffel bag in the room.

Jensen is disbelieving that Jared’s parents are cool with them sleeping in the same room and it reminds Jared yet again what a different attitude Jensen and the Holy Fire folk have toward sex.

Jared’s dad has shown Greg and Grace to their rooms and he tells them that Felicia is helping Grace to unpack, which Jared assumes is a euphemism and Jensen hotly insists is a totally literal expression. Given the emotions that Jared can sense coming from the women, Jared doubts that very much and he knows Jensen can feel what he’s feeling via their bond, but it takes Felicia and Grace’s somewhat dishevelled reappearance for Jensen to concede that Jared was right.

“Aren’t they adorable when they do that whole telepathy thing?” Misha says. “You can see whatever they’re talking about play out on their faces and of course you can _feel_ the emotions; it’s so entertaining.”

Jensen looks horrified and then embarrassed and then he hides his face in Jared’s chest.

“It’s okay, babe,” Jared pats him on the head. “You can’t help having such an expressive face. Just, promise me you’ll never play poker, okay?”

Jensen smacks his arm and mutters something about hating him, but Jared knows that’s not true.

Felicia and Misha stay for supper, which is a lively affair, filled with good humor and good conversation. Jared’s mom and Grace are talking effective PR strategies, his dad and Felicia are talking about some VR computer game that Felicia reviewed recently, and Misha is quizzing Greg on the ‘strange aversion to orgies that you Holy Fire people have’.

When he’s eaten his fill, Jared sits back and watches the banter flying back and forth. This is good, he decides. This is _family_. He can feel Jensen’s gratitude for the presence of his siblings and knows that he’s hopeful that his parents will come around too, one day.

They’d watched the news before supper, which was full of Inquisitor Heyerdahl’s arrest for assaulting Jensen, and reports of dissension within the ranks of the Church of the Holy Fire. There were Pastors interviewed who talked about the need to re-interpret scripture; saying that the focus on the magi was wrong, that God had been condemning _evil_ , not witches, that the mundane interpretation of evil _as_ witches had merely been the result of fear of those who were different; of xenophobia. Jared wholeheartedly approves and he knows that Jensen does too. It looks like they’re in for some interesting times.

 Jensen reaches for his hand underneath the table and Jared takes it, his heart swelling with love.

Jensen’s eyes widen and then he smiles softly. “Jared,” he chides gently.

“What?”

“You should probably do something about this,” Jensen gestures to the sparkly rainbow-colored swirls that are dancing around his head.

“Oops,” Jared says, quickly reintegrating the physical manifestation of his magic. “I guess my magic missed you too.”

He can’t believe it’s only been a couple of weeks since his magic reached out and claimed Jensen as his soulmate. And he knows that they were only apart for one night and most of two days, but he missed Jensen fiercely the whole time they were apart.

 _I missed you too_ , Jensen says.

Jared smiles. He can’t wait to get Jensen into the privacy of their room so that he can show him—repeatedly—just how much he loves him.

 

_The End_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed the story and would love to hear from you if you have! :)
> 
> This year, I was lucky enough to be selected by Dulcetine for the art. And wow, does her style fit perfectly with this story. The water colour paintings truly look like something from a fairytale and the beautiful rainbow colours are just magical! If you haven't done so already please go [HERE](http://dulcetine.livejournal.com/196551.html) and shower Dulcetine with praise!   
> Thank you so much for all your fabulous work, Dulcetine! The story is immensely improved by having your beautiful pictures spread throughout!
> 
> Thanks as always to my fabulous beta reader 9tiptoes who picks up my silly typos and helps me to rein in my Australianisms...I truly appreciate your ongoing support T! I know how busy you are and feel truly blessed that you still take the time to help me make sure my characters sound like the American boys they are! :D
> 
> And a huge thank you to Wendy who always thinks she's not as important as the writers and artists, but without you at the helm, Wendy, we wouldn't have a challenge, so I am immensely grateful and appreciative of all your hard work!


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